


Healing Hands

by Tonks914



Series: The Potter kids find love [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Spoilers, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-08-21 19:40:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8258120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tonks914/pseuds/Tonks914
Summary: James Potter is an overachiever.  With a beautiful girlfriend, Quidditch, head boy duties, and the new Healer Prep program, his seventh year is shaping up to be exactly how he always dreamed.  What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, I don't own the rights to Harry Potter. Jo is a goddess. The end.

“Mum, I’ve really got to go!” James said the words as gently as he could, it was very clear that the fiery Ginny Potter had been hit with a wave of unexpected emotions as she hugged her eldest son. Muffled cries of “it was only a second ago” and “how can you be a seventh year” could be heard amongst the sobs.  


She finally composed herself enough to release him and took a step back. “Just try to have some fun. I’m worried about you with Head Boy duties and Poppy’s healer program.”  


James gave an exasperated sigh and looked at his dad who smirked and put his hands up, clearly admitting that he was no help. “Mum, we’ve been over this, that’s why I passed on Quidditch captain this year.” He paired the annoyed statement with a warm smile and pulled her into another hug. “And when did my cool mum become such an emotional worry-wart?”  


Instantly, his mother pulled back and shot him a glare that made it clear that her intense Weasley spirit was intact. She then smacked him in the arm, for good measure. “Owwwwwww, Mum, is that anyway to treat your favorite child?” James said with a smirk.  


Ginny only scoffed as Harry pulled him into a tight hug. “You better get on the train but don’t forget to write.”  


James grabbed his trunk and turned on his heals towards the train. He threw a quick “I love you” over his shoulder and ran ahead to board. It took him a few minutes of searching compartments but he eventually came to the one containing his four closest friends and threw back the door.  


“There’s the overachiever!” his best friend, Cameron McLaggen exclaimed, and pulled him into a hug.  


Suddenly his girlfriend Evie was shouldering in, “Enough, enough, he’s my boyfriend. Let me get in there.” She smirked at him before planting a kiss on his lips. “Missed you.” She whispered to only James.  


“Missed you, too.” He said with a warm smile.  


“Seriously, congratulations on getting into the program, mate.” His friend Jack said from his seat. It was clear why he had not attempted to stand for a hug as he was currently entangled with their other close friend, Phoebe Samuels.  


“Thanks, so…uh” James motioned between the two of them, “I guess, this finally happened then?”  


Phoebe blushed an adorable shade of red and gave him a shy smile. He always really liked Phoebe, she was less brash than the rest of the group, and although she was a confident person, her confidence didn’t border on arrogance like the others. “It just sort of happened over the summer. It’s good, so far anyway.” She said. Jack and Phoebe pulled playful faces at each other and Jack placed a loving kiss on top of her head. James couldn’t help but smile at them. Everyone knew that this was going to happen since year two, so finally seeing it made him truly happy.  


Evie broke in, “Yeah, now has anyone heard who scored the second spot in Madame Pomfrey’s healer program?”  


James scanned the group as everyone shook their heads. “I don’t understand, I swear that we’ve asked everyone in the entire year. Do you think she changed her mind and only admitted one person?”  


Evie gave a haughty sigh, “If that’s the case then I’m going to be extremely irritated. I lobbied hard for that second spot.”  


James gave his girlfriend, what he hoped was, a reassuring squeeze as the train lurched into motion. “Alright, I guess duty calls.” James said as he affixed his ‘head boy’ badge to the front of his robes. “Jack, Phoebe, don’t get too caught up snogging that you forget to meet in the prefects compartment in twenty minutes.”  


Jack stood abruptly, standing in a perfect salute, as he bellowed a “Sir, yes sir!” In his full commitment to the joke, he hadn’t noticed that he nearly knocked his girlfriend to the floor and hurried to help her up when she angrily protested.  


James left; laughing and shaking his head, and began to patrol the corridors, peeking into each compartment to make sure all was right. After only five minutes, and a guilty conscience, he had already broken up two pairs of snogging fifth years. How many times had he snogged his various girlfriends on the train, or in a broom cupboard, or simply in the middle of the common room? As prefect, he could turn a blind eye and let the lovebirds enjoy their time but as head boy… his train of thought was suddenly halted as he glanced into the next compartment.  


A boy knelt on the ground as someone stood in front of him, a wand trained, squarely at his face. James quickly threw the door back and said in his most authoritative voice, “What is going on here?”  


The attacker turned to face him at the sudden interruption, her head full of dark brown curls bouncing slightly. Her heart shaped face pulled in a questioning way as she looked at him. There was something familiar about her, she had light mocha skin and wore a nose ring in her right nostril. Since she was still in muggle clothes, her figure was visible and it was clear that she had to be at least a fifth year. James was sure he knew her but couldn’t have named her if you’d offered fifty galleons. The unknown female surveyed James but kept her wand trained on her victim, who James now could see was the notorious prat, Markus Bole.  


“She’s trying to kill me!’ Markus let out in that all too familiar, shrill voice.  


“Shut it and get back to work or I swear that I will disembowel you.” The girl said with enough conviction that James would have complied if he were in Markus’s shoes. James opened his mouth to say something but when he saw what “work” the girl was referencing he quickly shut it. Upon seeing this, Markus turned to continue cleaning the words ‘the Slytherin Squib is a poof’ off of a very familiar trunk. James and the girl silently watch him until he finished and hurried out of the compartment.  


When the door closed behind him, James turned to the girl. “I should give you detention for that.”  


“But you won’t.” She said with a smile.  


James smiled back, “Well, you were protecting my brother, which definitely works in your favor. Thank you, by the way, you didn’t have to do that.”  


The girl knitted her brows together as if assessing James. After a moment she laughed, “You’re kidding, right?”  


James looked at her questioningly.  


“You really don’t know who I am?” She laughed a bit harder as the door flew open and Albus and Scorpius came barreling into the compartment, arms full of various sweets.  


James squeezed his eyes shut because his brother’s presence instantly reminded him of the mystery girl’s identity. Bria Thomas Finnigan. After the incident with the time turner, more specifically after the death of one of their classmates, the student body had decided that Albus and Scorpius were dangerous in addition to strange. They were more lonely and ostracized than ever. Fortunately, by the end of term, Bria had convinced her brothers and a few of her Ravenclaw acquaintances that the duo was alright. It seemed that the charity turned into genuine friendship over the summer.  


“Bria, your little brother is the best.” Albus exclaimed as he dropped the contents of his arms onto the train seat.  


Scorpius nodded in agreement, “The absolute best! I don’t think we’ll ever have to talk to the trolley witch again.”  


Albus turned around and noticed James standing next to Bria for the first time. “What are you doing in here?”  


James went to speak but Bria cut him off. “Oh, you know, he was just introducing himself to me since he has no idea who I am.”  


Albus instantly chortled and James could felt heat rising up his neck. Even Scorpius was attempting to hide his snickering in the corner. Albus shook his head, “James, even you can’t be that far up your own arse. I have TWO friends, TWO. Is it really that much of a challenge to keep them straight?”  


James was feeling extremely defensive, “Obviously, I know who she is now.” He motioned to Bria, “she looks a lot different from last year.”  


The trio surveyed each other, looking as if they could fall into hysterics at any moment. Bria was chewing on her lip in an attempt not to say anything, she lost the battle as she announced, “They’re called breasts, James, and I did have them last year.” His brother and Scorpius melted into fits of laughter and a broad smile spread across Bria’s face.  


James felt the heat from his neck move into his cheeks but he refused to allow embarrassment to make him flee the situation. Instead he let them calm a bit before adding, “The nose ring is new too.”  


Bria stood and motioned for the boys to calm down. “Okay, okay, let’s give him a break. And you have a valid point with the nose ring.” She said with a wink. “In any case, it seems that we’ll get to know each other quite well this year. You earned the other spot in the Healer Prep Program, right?”  


James was immediately taken aback and took, what felt like, a stupidly long time to respond. Bria simply stood and stared at him expectantly. “Uh, sorry. Yeah, I did. How did you get in? Aren’t you a sixth year?”  


“Technically, you didn’t have to be a seventh year to apply. You just had to be bloody brilliant, and considering she’s already sitting N.E.W.T. level courses, bloody brilliant she is.” Scorpius interjected.  


Bria flashed him a warm smile. “Is ‘bloody brilliant’ a technical term?” Scorpius smiled playfully and nodded as his response.  


An unfamiliar feeling crept over James and he tried his best to place it. The three people in front of him had an easy and comfortable friendship. They bounced corny jokes off of each other without a care what other people thought, they certainly didn’t care what James Potter thought. Awkward. James felt awkward, like he was intruding in a place where he wasn’t wanted. He was glad that he had a legitimate excuse so that it didn’t seem like he was running away. “Right, yeah, well I have to get to the prefects meeting but I’ll be seeing you. Soon, I guess.” James cringed to himself, what was wrong with him? He nodded towards Scorpius and his brother, who had an amused smile plastered on his face. “Scorpius. Albus.” James said as he slid out of the door.


	2. Chapter 2

After only four weeks, James was not sure how he was still standing. His life had become a never ending loop of Quidditch practice, Potions, Healer Prep, study session with Bria , Charms, hospital wing shift, Transfiguration, prefect meeting, study session with his friends, hospital wing shift, Herbology, study session with Bria, Defense against the Dark Arts, repeat. He constantly felt that he was failing at his Head Boy duties and was too tired to be any real company when he had five minutes to spend with his friends. As much as he hated to admit it, at this moment he couldn’t help but think that his mother was right, he HAD taken too much on this year. 

His thoughts continued in this depressive cycle all throughout breakfast as he attempted to finish his toast and make small talk with his friends. He was feeling quite sorry for himself by the time Bria approached him after breakfast. “Hey James, wait up.”

James could feel Evie tense at his side and was in no mood to deal with her jealous attitude. He turned to Bria and spat out an unnecessarily harsh, “Yeah?”

Bria’s demeanor instantly chilled and she made no attempt to hide the disgusted look that had overtaken her face. “We need to reschedule our study time today.”

James had to actually stifle a groan; Merlin, he was having trouble being around himself in this mood. The knowledge of his foul attitude didn’t make his tone any more manageable and he threw out an equally annoyed, “Why?”

“I need to go to Hogsmead. I can be back around three?” Bria answered without missing a beat.

This time James actually did groan, “That won’t work. I have a long Quidditch practice tonight.”

Bria sucked in her breath, she was clearly losing patience with his tone, “Well then, we’ll just do this week’s project solo.”

James sighed; he knew that completing the project on his own would take at least double the time. Madame Pomfrey had made it clear that their assignments were designed to be completed as a team. This was, in her words, “to better prepare them for the team environment, so integral to servicing their patients, at St. Mungo’s.” He did not have that kind of time to spare. James shook his head, “Can’t I just come with you and we can work in the Three Broomsticks?” Evie possessively slipped her arm through his at his words. He knew that he should try to reassure her but he was too tired for her jealousy. 

Bria smiled, at least his pathetically bad mood was entertaining her, “I’m actually meeting my boyfriend and since I’ve been neglecting him terribly, I don’t think that will work.” Evie loosened her grip a bit at Bria’s words.

Bria had a boyfriend? James tried to quickly wrack his brain to remember if he knew this information or not. After a moment he faintly remembered Albus discussing Bria’s much too old, on-again, off-again boyfriend. Either way, the boyfriend was hugely inconveniencing James today. He sighed again, “Fine. We’ll meet after quidditch. 10 pm?”

Bria chuckled, “Only if you nap before practice.”

James narrowed his eyes at her. Who did she think she was? Dictating when he did or did not nap. She cut his train of thought off with an explanation. “You’ll be no good to me if you haven’t slept.” James wanted to protest but he knew she was right. He answered with a curt nod and she turned and ran to catch up with Albus and Scorpius. 

“Ugh, she’s insufferable.” Evie announced once Bria was out of earshot, looking from Cameron to Jack for confirmation. James caught Phoebe roll her eyes in his peripheral vision. Phoebe and Bria were both in Ravenclaw and although they weren’t friends, there was still some house unity there. Evie continued her case when no one voiced their agreement, “I mean, she shouldn’t even be allowed in NEWT courses, let alone the Healer Prep course. You know what they say about her mother? I think it’s the only reason that they let her get into these advanced courses.” 

With two fathers, it was expected that there would be some rumors about the biological mother of the Thomas-Finnigan children. Throughout the years, the rumor that seemed to gain the most traction was that their birth mother was a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Although James could not fathom how this was possible, he had to admit that the children were all unreasonably gifted.

Evie continued with her train of thought, “I think it is downright unnatural, choosing the best breeding for your children like that. It shouldn’t be allowed.” 

James stopped dead in his tracks at Evie’s offensive words. He was attempting to collect his shock into a cohesive thought when Phoebe beat him to it. “Oi, enough already! We get it, you’re jealous that she made it into the program and you didn’t! You don’t like her. She spends too much time with your boyfriend. She’s too damn smart. We. Get. It. But none of that gives you any excuse to be so offensive and judgmental. We’re all sick of hearing about it. Get over it, Evie.”

The boys all looked from one girl to another, their eyes wide in disbelief. Evie had gone a deep shade of red but whether in embarrassment or anger, James couldn’t tell. James looked up and made eye contact with Cameron which was a huge mistake. The second their eyes locked, Cameron started to lose his composure. Within moments, as was always the case with the duo, James followed suit and they both collapsed into hysterics. Evie was instantly furious and stormed from the group. James yelled a half-hearted apology after her but made no attempt to follow.

\------------------------------------------

After a nap and a good training session on the pitch, James mood had considerably improved. He even had a small bounce in his step as he approached the library. When he rounded the corner, he was surprised to see that Bria had beaten him there. She sat engrossed in the book that was laid on the table in front of her, only pausing reading to scribble quick notes on the parchment to her right. He bounded up to her and announced his presence rather cheerily. “Hey! How was Hogsmead?”

Bria barely looked at him as she handed him another book. “I need you to outline Chapter 26, page 394.”

James flashed her a quizzical look but she wasn’t looking his way to pick up on it. He wasn’t sure what to say to her so he settled on a simple, “You okay?”

She didn’t look up again and just answered, “Dandy,” and tapped her quill on the book, “Page 394.”

James stared at her for a moment, pondering something. Suddenly he reached over and closed her book, decision made.

“What the hell?” Bria yelled, she was very quick to temper today.

James was unfazed. “Look, I’m sorry that I was in such a mood this morning.”

Bria’s eyes flashed dangerously, “What? Merlin, you are so self-absorbed. This has nothing to do with you. Just do your portion of the work so that I can go to bed.” 

She went to reopen her book but James put his hand on it to stop her again. “Well if you aren’t annoyed that I am a self-absorbed, arrogant, prick with my head up my own arse, then what is the problem?” When it was apparent that Bria wasn’t going to answer, he continued, “Look, Bri, we are going to spend a gross amount of time together over the next school year. If we become friends, this will actually be fun. If we don’t, then this year will be insufferable. I get it if you don’t want to tell me your problems yet but maybe we can start small? Like who is your favorite brother?” 

Bria chortled, “You aren’t supposed to have favorite siblings.”

“Lily.” James answered instantly.

She rolled her eyes and bit her lip before answering sheepishly, “Sean. Collin is so close in age with me that we’re competitive and since Mattie is the oldest, he is constantly trying to be a third father.”

James smirked at her playfully; she stared at him for a minute as if trying to figure out a puzzle before abruptly breaking the silence. “Nick broke up with me today. We’re constantly doing this but today it just feels more final. At least, I hope it is.”

“This is the ‘too old for you boyfriend’” James asked.

Bria’s mouth fell open, “Did Albus say that?” James nodded, hoping he didn’t just get his brother into trouble but, luckily, Bria only laughed. “He wasn’t that old, twenty-two, but he had the emotional maturity of a fourth year, trust me.” 

They both laughed and James could see that Bria had visibly relaxed. “So, Lily is your favorite sibling, who is your favorite parent?”

James gasped in mock horror, “How could you ask such a thing? No, it’s totally my mum. Don’t tell my dad though. You?”

“Overall, my Da, Seamus. We just have more in common.”

James smiled, he had met Dean and Seamus a few times over the years and he always got on better with Dean. Every time they would get together, he would always talk James’s ear off about muggle football. “Okay, my turn. Favorite prank you’ve ever pulled?”

Bria smiled almost sheepishly, preparing for James’s reaction to her answer, “I’ve never pulled a prank.”

James’s smile instantly fell and his tone was just short of incredulous, “What? Never?” Bria shook her head as James continued, “You have never, in your sixteen years of life, pulled a prank on someone?” When Bria shook her head again, James grabbed her wrist and pulled her up into a standing position. “That’s it, we’re remedying this immediately! Accio glitter bombs.” Within a minute, the four glitter bombs that had previously sat atop James’s trunk soared into the library. His eyes flashed mischievously and wild as he pulled Bria from the library at a run. 

“James! I’m all about some fun but can we finish our assignment first?” Bria asked with a laugh.

James shook his head, “This is an emergency. You could die in the next hour and will have never pulled a prank. This can’t wait. Now, let’s find a home for our glitter.”

They both thought for a moment before Bria offered, “The trophy room? It’ll take them forever to clean it all.”

“YES!” James almost yelled, “You have an evil mind. I love it!” The duo hurried to the trophy room, giggling all the way. When they entered, James threw the glitter bombs and pulled his wand, pointing it at the target. “Wingardium Leviosa.” The glitter bombs floated up to the center of the room and hung in the air. 

James and Bria exchanged excited smiles, as Bria pulled her wand and pointed it at the four, suspended targets. James gave her a nod and she shouted, “EXPULSO.” 

The sound that that erupted was deafening and James instantly realized that he had mistakenly purchased the bombs with the noise makers attached. They had both been knocked to the ground by the force of the spell and laid there frozen with fear as massive amounts of glitter rained down on them. Because of the ringing in their ears, it took them almost too long to hear movement outside of the trophy room and barely had time to stand and run as the door swung open. 

They sprinted full speed out of the other entrance and ran like their lives depended on it. Before he realized what was happening, Bria had thrown open a broom closet and pushed James inside, following behind. They stood with their heaving chests pressed up against each other, glitter covering them both head to toe. James smiled and went to say something as Bria put her finger to his lips to silence him. They stood like for a moment before Bria pulled her hand down and sighed, clearly relieved. She opened her mouth to speak when the broom closet door was ripped open. They were screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spending time with Bria has caused James to realize a few things about his younger brother.

It could have easily been worse. It could have been any other professor who threw back the door to the broom cupboard. Any other professor and James’s Head Boy status would’ve been in serious jeopardy. Any other professor and they could’ve been kicked out of the healer prep program. Any other professor and they could’ve been expelled! Luckily, when the door flew open it was Professor Neville Longbottom who stood on the other side. Both James and Bria let out an audible sigh of relief when they saw him. Neville knew all of their parents well and would not let their futures be compromised due to a poorly executed prank. He did demand that they come back every night until every speck of glitter was removed from the trophy room. It didn’t seem so bad of a punishment until he informed them that he would be confiscating their wands each night and they’d have to clean it the muggle way. 

Yes, it could have easily been better too. Professor Longbottom could’ve kept the information about the prank and the broom cupboard to himself. Instead, Bria received a terrible howler from her dads, the next morning about allowing a boy to compromise her future. And James received one moments later, also from her fathers, about putting their daughter’s future in jeopardy for an “uninspired prank which heavily tarnished the Weasley reputation.” Bria looked like she would die from embarrassment at any moment. 

It could have definitely been better. If Professor Longbottom had been alone instead of with three, nosy fourth years, that would have indeed been better. Then Evie wouldn’t have approached James the next morning, accusatorily, about being in a broom closet with another girl. And James wouldn’t have lost his temper and yelled at her about her ridiculous fits of jealousy. Then Evie wouldn’t have broken up with him loudly as she poured a glass of orange juice over his head. 

“Mate, oi, Jamie!” Cameron was snapping his fingers in front of James’s face “Are you still with us?”

James gave him a groan of assent.

Cameron smirked at him, “Alright, you need to eat your dinner though. You’re barely sleeping; we can’t have you skipping meals too. What would the sexy Ginny Potter think of me if I sent her son back to her all skin and bones?”

“Hey, watch your mouth!” James shot at him as he propelled a half-eaten roll at his head.

Cameron only giggled and raised his eyebrows suggestively as James scowled at him. “So do you think you’ll finish the trophy room tonight?”

James shrugged, “Well we’ll both be there for a change. Hopefully tag teaming it will make it go faster.” James let his eyes drift over to Bria’s usual spot at the Ravenclaw table but found it empty. The duo hadn’t spoken since the glitter bomb incident and, according to Albus, she was furious with him. As he scanned the table for the familiar tangle of brown curls, he locked eyes with Evie who was eating with Phoebe to avoid James, no doubt. He flashed her an apologetic smile but she only rolled her eyes and went back to her conversation. “Alright, I think she already headed up so I have to go. She’s angry enough at me without my being late.”  


James stood to leave but Cameron halted him, placing the half-eaten roll into his hand. “Eat this on your way.”  


James face broke into a wide grin at the kindness of the gesture. “Thanks, dad.”  


“Maybe one day.” Cameron replied with a wink.  


James leaned across the table and smacked his friend hard across the head and, laughing, raced out of the great hall to avoid retaliation. 

\----------------

After dropping his wand at Professor Longbottom’s office, he made his way to the trophy room. Glancing through the door, he saw Bria who was already removing glitter from the Quidditch cup. She looked exhausted and by the way she was scrubbing, she was seething with anger. James took a deep breath and pushed through the door.  


Bria didn’t even turn when she heard the door close. It was going to be a very long night if she was going the ‘silent treatment’ route. James walked next to her and bent down to pick up the second bucket and scrub brush. He stood and surveyed Bria for a second who was doing a fantastic job of pretending that James didn’t exist. “Is it even worth apologizing?”  


Bria’s hand halted at his words but she didn’t break her silence so James continued. “Because I can. I mean, I am. Sorry, I mean. I’m really sorry.”  


Bria turned to look at him. “You’re shit at apologies.”  


“I’m shit at a lot of things. I’m just really good at faking so people don’t usually notice.” James replied.  


She nodded at his words and went back to scrubbing. James decided that he was going to act as if her nod meant that his apology had been accepted and knelt beside her to start scrubbing a gold-plated plaque.  


They worked in comfortable, or maybe slightly uncomfortable, silence until James couldn’t take it anymore. He sighed, “Whose evil idea was it to release a glitter bomb over trophies, anyway? We’re never going to finish this.”  


The side of Bria’s mouth turned up at his words, “Yes we will.”  


James lifted his arms in triumph, “She speaks AND smiles.”  


Bria let out a full laugh at his words. “It really wasn’t all your fault. I mean, you’re an idiot for not realizing that we were setting off ear-piercing noise makers, but I was a willing participant in the whole thing.”  


The tension was officially broken and the two continued to chat as they worked. As they had never conversed so freely and easily, James thought it was a perfect time to ask a question that had been nagging at him. “Soooo….who is it then? Scorpius or Albus?”  


“Who’s what? What are you on about?” Bria responded.  


“Who do you fancy? You spend so much time with them, I can only assume that there are some feelings there.” James said matter-of-factly.  


Bria looked at James as though he had two heads. “So men and women can’t be friends without someone having romantic feelings?”  


James hesitated, it felt as though he was entering dangerous territory so he proceeded with caution. “Not usually when they’re sixteen.” He paused, bracing slightly for any backlash.  


Bria just looked at him for a moment before answering. “Well, obviously Albus is gorgeous. Scorpius and I have always bonded over rumors of our parentage, and Scorpius’s intelligence is extremely attractive…”  


James interrupted her, “So your type is someone who looks like Albus but is very intelligent?” He flashed her a cheeky grin.  


She scowled at him before continuing, “Neither of them is arrogant either, which is good because arrogance is a HUGE turn-off for me.” She shot him a matching cheeky grin. “I think it’s really clear that I’m not either of their type, though.”  


James didn’t follow, “Why’s that?”  


Bria shook her head, “You are so clueless. Haven’t you ever seen them together?”  


He shrugged, “Still not following.”  


She let our an exasperated sigh as she set her brush on the ground. “Look, I’m pretty sure that Albus strongly prefers blondes.”  


James shook his head and stared at her blankly. She laughed as she continued, “And I’m pretty sure that Scorpius likes green-eyed, raven haired BOYS who have an affinity for dry sarcasm?” She stopped, giving James a chance to process.  


As comprehension washed over him, his eyes widened comically large. “No! No way. Are you serious?”  


Bria laughed, “I’m pretty sure. Although, I don’t think they’re even really aware of it yet so don’t say anything. I really think it’s something they have to come to on their own.”  


James sat there for a long time just thinking. It made perfect sense now that he thought about it. His brother was only truly happy when the Malfoy kid was in tow. Their relationship didn’t look a thing like his and Cameron’s friendship. Honestly, if he had ever given a thought to his little brother’s friendship, its intimacy looked more like his parents’ relationship than any other he knew.  


Bria interrupted his thoughts, “You’re okay with it, right?”  


He shook himself out of his stupor; he hadn’t realized until this moment that his pause may have made it seem that he wouldn’t accept his brother which, of course, was not that case. “Yeah, OF COURSE. Yes. It’s great, really.” Bria looked visibly relieved. “I just don’t know why he wouldn’t talk to me about it.”  


Bria let out a chortle, “Probably because you’re a terrible brother.”  


The way that she said this, not as a joke but as a fact, made James feel as though he had been punched. His eyes faced the floor and he worked hard to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. Bria took notice, “I’m sorry. That was really rude. I don’t understand how your relationship works but it’s none of my business!’”  


“Do you really think I’m a bad brother?” He looked at her, almost pleading for honesty. “I always thought that I was just doing my duty, giving him a hard time. I mean, he’s my little brother. Isn’t that my job?”  


Bria hesitated, bit her lip, and then looked down. Her aversion of eye contact made it clear that she was about to be brutally honest. “That’s not how it is in my family. My big brothers look at for Collin and me. We tease each other, sure, but they would never abandon me.” Bria’s voice gained strength as she spoke, anger on behalf of her friend replaced the hesitation. “Albus had a really hard time when he started school. Things don’t come easily to him and he was teased relentlessly.” James opened his mouth to respond but she put her hand up to silence him. “You think you were playfully teasing him but you don’t realize that you were giving the entire student body permission to torture him. If even his own brother thinks he’s a weirdo, thinks he’s the Slytherin Squib, then obviously no one else should give him the time of day. You could’ve ended it at any point, you could’ve stood up for him, could’ve taken him under your wing but you didn’t. You abandoned him so yes. Yes I think you’re a bad brother, to Albus anyway.” She swallowed hard and then picked up her brush and continued scrubbing.  


James froze, the lump in his throat would not dislodge and he desperately tried to blink away the stinging in his eyes. He cleared his throat, “Thank you for telling me. I’ll do better.”  


Bria looked hard into James eyes, clearly taken aback by his sincerity. They held each other’s gaze for a moment before she stood. “Okay, I’m done cleaning. Are you ready to get out of here?”  


He laughed, “Oh yeah, Neville would love that.”  


In response, Bria simply lifted her hand and flicked her wrist. Instantly, every speck of glitter disappeared. James mouth fell open. “How did you?”  


“I’m really good at wandless magic.” She responded. “I couldn’t do it on the first night, though, since we were supposed to clean the muggle way.” When he continued to gape at her, Bria became flustered. “Please don’t tell anyone. There are enough rumors about my family. I don’t want to add fuel to the fire. “  


James nodded a few too many times. “Yeah, I get that. It’s brilliant though. You’re brilliant.” They smiled at each other. “Let’s get out of here now. I never want to see glitter or this trophy room ever again!”  


As the duo made their way out of the room and down the hall, James felt more mentally exhausted than he ever had. For some reason he couldn’t shake the feeling that those two hours had changed everything.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladies and gentlemen, presenting my all-time favorite fan fiction troupe: the fake relationship.

After another month, James finally felt like he had a handle on his life again.  His routine, although busy, was effective and as long as he adhered to the schedule, he even had time to socialize and sleep!  Today was Wednesday which meant that he studied with Bria over a long breakfast.  He entered the great hall flanked by Cameron and Jack but quickly said his goodbyes and made his way to the Slytherin table.  They studied alongside Albus and Scorpius because, although he and Evie still spent time in the same social circle, it quickly became apparent that she couldn’t control her childish tendencies for an entire breakfast with Bria. 

James was happy with it anyway, it gave him an excuse to spend some time with his little brother.  A month prior he had approached Albus for a very awkward start to mending their relationship.  He had abruptly plopped down in the grass next to Scorpius and him and vomited words at them, before they even had a chance acknowledge his presence.  “Listen.  I’m really sorry for being a complete arse of a brother.  I should’ve stuck up for you more and been there for you when you needed me, and I don’t think you’re an embarrassment, in fact, I think you’re really awesome, and I love you, and I’m so happy you have Scorpius and Scorpius, I’m so thankful that you are in Al’s – er, sorry, Albus’s – life and because of who you are to him, you’ll always be my brother too, and I love you guys, and yeah, that’s it.  With that he stood and left the two very confused fifth years in the grass where he found them.

To both of their credit, neither had mentioned the embarrassing apology and simply acted as though their relationship had always been solid.  As he made his way over to the duo, Scorpius shot him an excited grin and Albus simply nodded in his direction, the younger Potter had never been a morning person.  James sat down across from them and began to pile his plate with scrambled eggs as Bria came up beside him and dropped her books.  Scorpius opened his mouth to say something to her but she put her hand up to stop him and mumbled a barely audible, “Coffee first,” before scurrying up to the head of the table to acquire a cup. 

After a few minutes she returned, clutching her cup of coffee like it might try to escape at any moment.  “You guys, I think hell may have frozen over.  Evie just handed me something.  I mean, she was scowling the whole time but she still handed it to me!  Good morning, progress.”  She smiled, pulled out a piece of parchment, opened the book, and then placed it in front of James.    

He then reached into his bag and came up with Bria’s favorite quill and placed it with the ink bottle in between them.  He was just about to start reading off the properties of the Wiggenweld potion when he noticed Scorpius staring at them excitedly and wringing his hands.  James shot him a confused look, “What?”

“Oh, sorry!  It’s just that I find your symbiotic, academic relationship to be really beautiful.  I hope to have one, myself, one day.” Scorpius replied nervously.

Bria and Albus both let out hearty laughs as Albus pushed Scorpius playfully on the shoulder.  “What’s wrong with our symbiotic relationship?”  Albus shot at him.

Scorpius pulled a face at Albus, “Well, the academic part of our relationship is more my nagging you to do your school work and your forgetting and falling asleep anyway.”  He paused, clearing his throat, “The other parts of our relationship are great though.”

James risked a side glance at Bria who had a knowing smile plastered on her face as she brought her mug up to her lips for another swig.  He chuckled and attempting not to draw too much attention, turned his focus back to their assignment.

A half an hour later James was entirely engrossed in an entry about the long-term effects of the Wide-Eye potion when a hand on his thigh brought him out of his trance.  He quickly looked around, assuming that Bria was trying to alert him to something going on around them.  When he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary he met her gaze, and was completely taken aback by the look that she wore.  Bria bit her lip and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “You look really sexy when you’re concentrating.”

James leaned back, smiling and narrowing his eyes at the same time, trying to assess whether she was joking.  When she moved her hand further up his thigh, it was apparent that she wasn’t.  “I can’t concentrate with you so close to me.”  She continued, “I just want to rip your clothes off and show you how much I love you.”

James mouth fell open as Bria leaned in and placed a passionate kiss on his lips.  His brain took longer to process the situation than he would’ve liked and he had to will himself to push her away.  He held her at arm’s length and was about to say something when he heard uncontrollable laughter coming from the Gryffindor table.  James closed his eyes, understanding and anger hitting him at once.  A love potion.  A love potion given for the sole purpose of embarrassing the girl sitting next to him.  There was no doubt who was responsible.  As Bria made to climb into his lap, he heard the laughter spread to other tables in the great hall. 

His mind raced, trying to think of different ways for damage control, when he noticed that Albus was standing and pulling his wand, fully ready to avenge his friend.  He suddenly knew what he had to do and put his hand out to stop his brother.  “It’s really not that big of a deal.”  He said, “Sorry, we really should have told you.”  At this, he let Bria climb into his lap and placed a soft kiss on her lips.  He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Okay, love.  Meet me in my room.  The Gryffindor password is Gillyweed.”  She leaned back, smiled and bit her lip before running, happily out of the great hall. 

Once he was sure that she had exited, he stood and made his way over to the Gryffindor table.  Evie was laughing hysterically with a sixth year who he didn’t know well when he approached.  Even Cameron was trying to hold in a laugh which enraged him to no end but he tried to keep his voice calm when he spoke.  “That was very mature, Ev.  Do I have to remind you that you were the one who broke up with me?”

Evie smiled at him, “Lighten up, it was just a bit of fun.  I just figured that since she loves pranks so much she would appreciate it.” 

James nodded at her, “No, you’re right.  It wasn’t a big deal.  Honestly, you really did us a favor.  We had been debating about when to tell everyone we were a couple.”  James heart flipped happily when he saw her face fall at his words.  “…you see, she wanted to wait a while to spare your feelings because, unlike you, she’s a kind person but you and your HILARIOUS prank really took that decision off the table for us.”

She flashed him a look dripping of loathing, “You’re lying.”

James mouth turned up into a full smile, “Am I?  Well, if you excuse me, I think my girlfriend is in need of some company.  See you guys later.”  He turned and sauntered out of the great hall.

\-------------

James nervously made his way up the staircase to the Gryffindor boys’ dormitory.  Just as he was reaching for the knob, the door swung open and he was greeted by one of his roommates, Conor MacMillan. 

“Mate.  There is a WONDERFUL surprise for you in your bed.” He said as he bit his knuckle dramatically and started to descend the staircase.  “I’ll just leave you to it.”

James couldn’t help but pull a disgusted face.  He had come to know Conor well over the last seven years and the idea of such a sleaze looking at his – well, looking at Bria, it made his stomach turn.  He tried to shake the thought out of his head as he entered the room.  The sight in front of him instantly made James’s pulse quicken.  Bria’s jumper and trousers laid near the foot of the bed and the curtains around his four poster had been pulled shut.

“Jamie?  Is that you?” Bria’s voice floated out from behind the curtains. 

James swallowed hard and tried to think of all the symptoms of Spattergroit to keep himself calm.  “Yep.  Hey Bri, are you naked?””

She giggled seductively.  “You’ll have to come in and find out.”

Damn it. James made his way over to the bed all the while trying to keep his mind occupied.  Unusual fatigue, he thought.  He reached out and grabbed ahold of the curtain.  Unexplained, inability to speak. He took a deep breath and pulled back the curtain.  High fever and chills.  He let his eyes focus on the bed for a brief moment and instantly regretted it because Bria was sprawled on his bed wearing only her pants and bra.  James instinctively held his breath as Bria sat up and started slinking towards him on all fours.  He started panicking and yelled unnecessarily loud, “Disgusting, purple, pus-filled pustules.”  This caused Bria to pause for a moment as she gave him a quizzical look.  He exhaled thinking he was in the clear but before he could say anything, she had launched herself at him and began kissing him repeatedly on the lips. 

He pushed her back just far enough so he could speak.  “Bri, Bri, Bri, Bri, Bri, Bri.”  He said so rapidly that he was sure he sounded like a machine gun.  “Bri, STOP!”

Bria staggered backward as if she’d been slapped and when she spoke her voice had become small and meek. “But, I love you.” She said, flashing him a look that nearly made his heart break.

James thought back to all of his lessons on love potions.  He knew that Bria would be prone to irrational, emotional outbursts and had to choose his words carefully to avoid a meltdown.  “Right.  Yes, me too.  I love you too.”  Bria’s face broke into a smile bigger than he’d ever seen, at his words.  He continued, “It’s just that –“ think James, “It’s just that I’m not ready!  We’ve only just realized that we love each other and I don’t want to rush things.”

The smile that met him this time was sweet and understanding.  “Well, if you’re sure?  I just want to make you happy.”  Blast this stuff was dangerous.  “Maybe we could just cuddle?” she asked hopefully.

Oh, thank Dumbledore.  “Yes!  That sounds fantastic.” But as he plopped onto the bed and she moved to wrap herself around him, he remembered another problem and added, “With clothes, let’s cuddle with clothes.”  And with that he reached to the floor and grabbed his Quidditch t-shirt, handing it to her.

Bria smiled and happy obliged, pulling the stained, well-worn shirt over her head.  Without another word, she snuggled close to his side; placing her head on his chest and flinging her leg across his mid-section.  James couldn’t help but think that, for some reason, holding Bria close with her enveloped in his shirt felt a lot more intimate than kissing her when she was in nothing but her pants.  He felt his eyes become heavy and happily let sleep take his train of thought away.

\------------

Without warning, James was startled out of his mid-morning nap by a string of profanities.  “Oh no. OH NO.  Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no.”  Bria was sitting straight up at his side, her hands clasped around her mouth in horror, her eyes wide and glassy.

He immediately went to put his arm around her but she pulled away and buried her face in her hands, unable to hold back the tears any longer.  The entire situation was taking James by surprise.  He had expected her to be angry and embarrassed but had not expected the sudden onslaught of sobs.    He placed his palm flat against her back and spoke in his gentlest of voices, “It’s okay.  Hey, it’s okay.  Evie just gave you a love potion.”

So suddenly that James startled, Bria ripped her hands from her face and turned to face him.  “OH!  You don’t say, Jamie!” she said, her voice dripping in sarcasm.  “I thought that I suddenly developed the urge to just strip naked in front of you,” she groaned and fell back into a fit of tears, “and Conor Macmillan!”

“Admittedly, the bit about Conor Macmillan is awful,” James offered.

Bria’s eyes flashed dangerously, “You are not helping.”

“But I DID.  That’s what I’m getting at.  I definitely took the humour out of the prank.” James said proudly.

Scoffing, Bria asked, “And how did you do that?”

James shrugged, “I just told them that we were already dating.  It’s not funny to see a girl throw herself at her boyfriend.”

Bria sat silent and unmoving and James began to think that she was going to yell at him again when her mouth turned up into a mischievous smile.  “What did she do?  Was her face amazing?”

James sighed in relief, “Bri, it was bloody brilliant.  Definitely in my top ten of favorite moments of my life!” 

Bria doubled over in laughter, her voice heavy and her eyes still glistening from the sobs.  James simply watched her affectionately while she gained her composure.  Her voice sounded suddenly serious again as she said, “You didn’t have to do that.  Thank you.”

James made a move as if he was swatting her thanks away.  “Don’t thank me.  It was all my fault, anyway.  They were my glitter bombs.  It was my fight.  She is my ex-girlfriend.  I owed it to you.”

“Okay, but how to we do this?” She asked as she motioned between the two of them.

James shrugged his shoulders, “It really shouldn’t be that hard.  We spend so much time together anyway, we’ll just make it a point to be more –“ he searched for the right word before landing on “affectionate.  Then after a few weeks we’ll decide we’re better as friends.”

“It’ll be that simple?” Bria asked skeptically.

“It’ll be that simple.” James responded confidently as he hopped down from the bed.  “We should start now though.  We don’t want anyone to think that we are hiding out.”  He grabbed Bria’s discarded pants off of the floor and threw them to her.  “Now put your pants back on, you floozy.”

Bria went a bit pink in the cheeks as she stood and pulled the jeans up, fastening them at her waist.  “Can you throw me my shirt?”

“Actually, I think you should wear that one for today.  If you were really my girlfriend, I’d want you to.” James said as he motioned to the Potter Quidditch shirt that she wore.

Bria looked down at the stained Gryffindor shirt that hung shapelessly off of her body.  “Like marking your territory?” She asked judgmentally.

James smiled sheepishly and nodded in response.

“That’s really gross,” she said screwing up her face, “but okay.  Let’s get to our walk of shame.”

James laughed and reached for her hand, interlacing their fingers comfortably.  “Okay, just follow my lead.”

The duo made their way down the staircase and into the common room.  There were a few students studying to see their display of affection.  It would’ve been perfect if one of the students sitting by the fire hadn’t been Bria’s brother, Collin Thomas Finnigan.  James made it a point to completely ignore him, hoping that Bria would not notice.  He knew she would feel strange kissing him with her brother in the room.  Luckily, Collin went unnoticed and Bria turned to face James when they reached the portrait hole.  He pulled her in to a tight hug and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to kiss you now, act natural.”

Bria tensed slightly at his words but, to her credit, quickly melted in to the goodbye kiss with ease.  Since this was the first kiss that they both consented to, James was able to take stock of the softness of Bria’s lips for the first time.  Just as his thoughts started to drift back to the way she looked on his bed, Bria broke the kiss off and smiled at him.  “I’ll see you in Potions?” she asked.

He returned her smile and responded, “Of course.” 

As Bria climbed through the portrait hole, James shook his head.  It had been one hell of a morning!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really could have benefited from another day or two of work. I had outlined about double the material for this one but, for better or worse, it kept growing and I struggled to keep a strong flow. I may fix it later but I thought it best to work through the block (albeit, messily) rather than leaving the fic idle for too long (I know I'm ready for the SCORBUS of part 2). 
> 
> Either way, enjoy!

James Potter was happy.  Sure, at the moment he was attempting the scouring charm on his vomit-covered healer’s robes –the first year he was treating was overly confident that she was in control enough to forgo the bucket—but overall his life was fantastic.  He was excelling in his course work and finally feeling like he was of some use in the hospital wing (excluding the recent projectile-vomit incident but he had that under control now).   His friendships had never been stronger; Evie had even approached him to make amends earlier in the week.  It was a tearful, heart-felt apology that reminded James why they were friends in the first place.  They both agreed that that’s where their relationship should have stayed but the constant badgering from well-meaning friends on how ‘perfect’ they’d be together, had pushed them into something more. 

Then there was the fact that he was now two weeks into his “relationship” with Bria and it couldn’t have been going better.  It was effortless for the two of them to pretend to be dating.  They sat a little closer when studying, sometimes throwing limbs over each other or playing with one another’s hair as they concentrated.  It was really quite comforting and helped James think.  Then there were the hello and goodbye kisses, James felt the corners of his mouth tug up at the memory – well, memories technically.  He was just beginning to let his mind wander a little too far when a very familiar voice startled him back to reality.

“I’m no Dumbledore but I’m pretty sure you need to move your wand or something to make that vomit disappear.”  James looked down and, embarrassingly, realized that while letting his brain wander he had all but abandoned the task at hand.  Bria stood only a foot away and was assessing him with a very amused expression.  She shook her head and moved towards James lifting her hand with ease and the vomit disappeared.  “Rough night?”

James smiled at her.  “Thank you.  And no, actually, it was pretty quiet until Marty here graced me with her presence.”

From behind, Marty let out a groan that quickly turned into a retch and James heard the unmistakable sound of liquid hitting the hard floor.  He couldn’t help but return her groan, “Marty, you missed the bucket again!”

“I’m sorry.” She responded in an embarrassed, small voice that made James instantly regret his teasing tone.

Bria shot him a reprimanding look as she summoned a rag and went to wipe Marty’s face.  James watched her fondly as she calmed the young girl with a gentle, maternal voice.  “It’s fine, sweetie.  As soon as Madame Pomfrey comes back James will be able to administer the potion and you’ll be feeling right as rain.  Now close your eyes and rest.”

As Bria stood to and made her way back to him, James turned his attention to the sick on the floor which he took care of with a flick of his wand.  “You need to work on your bedside manner.” She chastised. 

“Yeah, I know.  It’s only fair that I have at least ONE fault, though.  No one can be pure perfection.” He smiled.

Bria’s eyes rolled so hard that they almost disappeared into the back of her skull.  “ANYWAY,” she said, making it clear that she had no tolerance for his egomaniac tendencies, “I just came by to see what you were up to tonight?  Albus and Scorp wanted us to hang out with them.”

James’s eyebrows shot up at the suggestion, “Like a double date?”  He asked hopefully.

He and Bria had quickly decided that the whole fake-romance plan would be a lot less awkward and more believable if none of their siblings knew the truth.  Albus clearly accepted the pairing if he was going out of his way to spend more time with them.

“I wish.  No, to be honest I think they’re just sick of watching us study.” She said.

“Impossible!  Scorpius could never get sick of watching us study.” He said matter-of-factly as he grabbed a white sheet from a box and moved towards an empty bed.

Bria chuckled, following him. “Very true, but Albus certainly has.  So are you free?”

James shook out the sheet and Bria automatically caught the other side.  “I’m meeting Cameron and Jack at seven but I’m free until then.  We could meet in the Great Hall at 5?  Will that work?”  He asked as the two finished fitting the sheet to the vacant bed. 

“Yep.   So…”  James watched as Bria’s eyes flickered to the young girl in the bed, clearly deciding whether a goodbye kiss was necessary.  When she saw that Marty was fast asleep, she paused, bouncing slightly on her heels before she added, “I guess I’ll see you at five then.”  And she turned to leave the hospital wing.

As James watched her go, he thought how strange it was that it was already feeling unnatural to NOT give her a kiss goodbye.  Motor memory really left an imprint quickly. 

 

\------

 

It had all happened so quickly.  First there were dares, and laughing, three voices chanting his name, and before he knew it he was sitting in a Hogwarts corridor in full makeup as his three friends – if he could still consider them that – sat laughing hysterically. 

“You are the ugliest woman I have ever seen!”  Albus exclaimed as his laughter toppled him over.

Bria attempted to compose herself enough to speak but was failing miserably.  “Oh, I don’t know.” She fell back into gasping laughter.  “His lips ARE beautifully full!”

“You’re right!” Scorpius broke in, “I never noticed but they’re just like Albus’s.  What do you say, Albus?  Are you next?”

Albus’s cheeks had flushed a bright red but whether from laughter or the fact that Scorpius had noticed his lips, James couldn’t be sure.  “Absolutely not!  My git brother may not know when to turn down a dare but I certainly do!  I’m not that proud.”

James was just about to insert a sarcastic comment about his brother not having any reason to be proud – thankfully, their relationship was strong enough for teasing again, when a shocked voice interrupted them.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL BLOODY HELL?!”

When James looked up he saw Cameron and Jack looking at him with the most bewildered expressions.

“So this is why you blew us off?” Jack asked, clearly very confused.

James flipped his wrist so that his watch face was visible, 7:45, how had he so lost track of time?  He was just about to offer an apology when Cameron cut him off.  “What?  You’re friends with these three for a month and you become a giant poof?”

He felt Bria tense to his right and saw her open her mouth to argue but silenced her by his swift action.  He knew how to best handle Cameron and in this case it was by launching his body at his sandy haired, best mate and kissing him repeatedly.  “Are you jealous Cammy?  You know I only have eyes for you!”

Within seconds, Cameron was covered in red lipstick and was breathless with both laughter and exertion from fighting off James’s advances.  “Alright, alright!  Get off!” he yelled.

Before releasing him James pulled him into a tighter hug and whispered “Apologize.”  When Cameron pulled back he flashed a confused look in his direction before understanding washed over him and he gave James a quick nod. 

“Sorry for the poof thing.” He directed mostly at Bria as James took his seat back next to her.  “I don’t have a problem with it.  I was just trying to give this idiot a hard time.  I don’t know how you can find him sexy after seeing him in lipstick, though.”  He smiled at her.

She smiled back but skeptically.  “Mmmhmm.   Well, let me give you a little tip so you can get a girl to snog you –outside of your immediate family, that is.”  Cameron’s face fell into one of complete shock as Jack laughed at his friend’s expense.  That kind of mean wit was not something that was expected of a Ravenclaw.  “This idiot is a lot sexier because of his comfort with who he is, lack of homophobia, and amazing sense of humour.”  At that she pulled herself into James’s lap and laid a kiss on his lips that was much more sensual –and had much more tongue- than any they had previously shared.  She ended the kiss as quickly as she had started it and pulled away, falling back into a fit of giggles when she locked eyes with James. 

James couldn’t help but join in when he saw that she now had red lipstick smeared all over her mouth.  He did his best to clean it off with his thumb before Bria fell back into her spot, at his side. 

Cameron was simply staring at them with an amused look on his face.  “I’ll have you know that I have a fantastic sense of humour.  Tell her guys!”

James and Bria locked eyes and she flashed him a wicked grin.  They were definitely sharing the same thought.  She looked up at Cameron and fingering her wand, said a definitive, “Prove it.”

 

After a while a crowd had gathered to share in the amusement.  Jack, Cameron, and James (all newly made over and wearing beautiful evening gowns) had taken to performing elaborate dance numbers for their adoring fans.   Jack’s ego had steadily inflated over the course of their dance routine as he now strutted back and forth on their make shift stage, raving about how his emerald dress perfectly contrasted his dark skin tone. 

James couldn’t help but think that they may have stumbled upon a new hobby for his dear friend when Jack attempted an elaborate spin move and fell head first on the unforgiving, stone floor.  The crack was so loud and definitive that James was sure it echoed throughout the corridors.  The fact that his mate’s head had made that sound caused a wave of nausea to hit him but his healer training kicked in and he was at his Jack’s side in a moment. 

Bria reached him at the same time as she shouted to Scorpius to fetch Madam Pomfrey.  The blood was pouring from the left side of his head, forming an unsettling puddle underneath his ear.  His friend, initially responsive, was now flitting in and out of consciousness.  “We have to stop the bleeding.”  He said as much to himself as he did to Bria. 

She nodded and looked frantically around them.  Their wands were inaccessible, lying on the floor somewhere amongst the scrambling Hogwarts students.  Bria locked eyes with James and reached her hand into the air without another thought.  The wands flew into her hand and she abruptly thrust James’s in his direction. To her credit, she blocked out the ripples of gasps and shocked whispers and instantly set her mind to the task at hand.  “You clean the wound, I’ll work at sealing it.”

He nodded and within a minute the bleeding had stopped and although his heart was still hammering in his chest, James felt like he could exhale for the first time since hearing the crack.  Jack’s eyes fluttered open and he smiled directly at him.  “I think you are the most beautiful nurse I have ever seen.”  James gave out a hearty, relieved laugh; his friends sarcasm returning was the ultimate sign that the danger had passed.

Madam Pomfrey and Scorpius arrived a moment later and demonstrating her extreme professionalism, she only spared a brief, confused look at the boys’ attire before setting to work.  “Very good.  Yes.  Mr. Williams, you are very lucky that my kids were here.” The way that her voice hung on the phrase ‘my kids,’ James couldn’t help but swell with pride.  “You’ll definitely need a blood potion, Bria accompany us to the hospital wing.  I have another patient in there now and will need your assistance.”  With that they placed Jack on a conjured stretcher and briskly walked down the corridor. 

The entertainment over, the students quickly dispersed but murmurs about Bria could be heard as they left.  James had to bite back the urge to loudly defend Bria’s honour to the masses.  He knew that people would gossip regardless and a boyfriend’s defensive words weren’t going to carry much weight.  “So…” Cameron said as he transfigured his clothes back to his original maroon jumper and khakis, James followed suit with his own. “that girlfriend of yours.”  He let the rest of his sentence die on his tongue. 

“She’s talented.”  James shot at him, ending any possible discussion of Bria’s parentage.

“She’s perfect for you.” Cameron continued as if he hadn’t heard James.  “I like her.  She makes you happy and that makes me happy.”  Cam flashed him a loving smile, although their emotional moments were rare, that didn’t make them any less sincere.

James couldn’t help himself, though, and he broke the nice moment with an overly dramatic, “D”awwwwwww,” and threw an arm around his friend. “I love you, Cammy.”

“Awww, and I love you too, Jamie.  Let’s go back to the dorm.  The makeup doesn’t suit me like it does you and Jack.  I need a shower but we can snuggle afterwards!”  And with that, the two set off towards Gryffindor tower.    

\-----

After the stress of the day, once he climbed into bed it took James exactly 63 seconds to fall into a deep sleep.  Unfortunately, after the extreme adrenaline rush, his dreams turned to nightmares quickly.

_He entered the hospital wing to begin his shift just like every other Wednesday.  As soon as he walked through the door he could sense that something was off, there was a strange dark glow all around him and voices could be heard despite the room’s vacancy.  He started desperately yelling for the owners’ of the voices to show themselves, to tell him what they wanted.  Suddenly, the room became eerily silent which caused James to panic further.  He started frantically running up and down the rows of cots and yelling for Madam Pomfrey when an ear piercing scream broke the silence.  When he turned to find the source of the scream, he was faced with hundreds of injured students, bloody and begging for his help.  “I CAN’T HELP YOU!  I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!” He screamed as they closed the gap between them, forcing James to back up.  The back of his legs pushed against something hard and he was knocked off balance, falling onto the floor with a crack.  He began to scramble back to his feet when he saw what he had tripped over – Bria’s lifeless body._

He woke abruptly, his chest heaving from the terror of the dream.  “James, James, wake up.”  It took a moment for his senses to readjust to his surroundings but he was finally able to look up at the person who had shaken him awake.

“Neville?”

“Get up.  We need the Head Boy.  We have a suspected Code Phoenix Flint.”  Neville responded abruptly, throwing a pair of pants to James.

He wracked his brain trying to think back to the emergency codes that they taught all the prefects at the start of term, he thought he remembered Phoenix Flint but was sure he must have been mistaken.  “Phoenix Flint?  Isn’t that…”  James started.

Neville nodded once.  “Security breach.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a few days early because I have no self-control and I'm excited for the next chapter.

After ensuring that the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff dormitories were empty (the Head Girl , Sofie Baxter, was in charge of Slytherin and Ravenclaw), James made his way into the great hall.  He was glad to see rows and rows of makeshift sleeping bags, suspended hammocks, and roll away cots replaced the massive house tables, demonstrating that the house prefects did as they were told. 

He saw Sofie next to the entrance, comforting a very distressed first year.  “Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are all accounted for.  Everything good on your end?”

“Yep.  I haven’t had a chance to address everyone though.”  She motioned to the distraught child in her arms.  “Do you think you could do it?” 

He nodded and briskly walked to the front of the room, ascending the stairs to the head table and scanned the area in order to put his own mind at ease; his dream had left him severely rattled.  He knew his sister and cousins were safe since he completed the initial Gyffindor head count himself.  Luckily, it was easy to locate Albus; he only had to look for a tuft of bright blonde hair in the Slytherin area to see his very bored and tired looking, younger brother stretched out at Scorpius’s side. 

His eyes then drifted to the grouping of Ravenclaw students huddled by the window.  It took him a moment to find Bria, mostly because he wasn’t expected her to be cloaked in crimson and gold.  However, there she was, standing with her messy hair tied up atop her head, stretching her arms into the air allowing James a full view of her tight, black pants and Potter Quidditch shirt.  His mouth curled up into an amused smile as Bria’s eyes met his and he reached to pinch the fabric of his own top as he mouthed, “Nice shirt.”

Bria rolled her eyes but she smiled brightly as if suppressing a laugh and mouthed back “Shut up.”

At that moment, interrupting their wordless conversation, Madam Pomfrey scurried up to her and placed a healer’s apron into her hands.  Bria threw it over her head and flashed one last smile at James before disappearing to take her emergency protocol post. 

James waited until she was out of sight before he placed his wand to his throat and began addressing the student body.  “If I can have everyone’s attention, please.  I know that this situation is far from ideal but I can assure you that it’s for your own safety.  The entire staff is working tirelessly to ensure that everything is clear before we return to the dorms.  We’ll know more by morning but as it stands now, an unknown person, for an unknown purpose, attempted to enter Ravenclaw tower right after midnight.  If you have any information, concerns, or questions, please bring them to the attention of your house prefects.  Prefects, Sofie and I will be collecting your head counts every hour so make sure you rotate shifts throughout the night.  That’s it.  Now try to get some sleep.”  He lifted his wand from his throat and the hall lights dimmed considerably.

 

Throughout the night, James and Sofie alternated hour-long waking shifts.  At least they were ‘waking’ shifts for the first four hours, after that they were more ‘doze off and startle awake 75 times’ shifts.  He had just sprung awake after one of these episodes when he saw the Headmistress enter the Great Hall looking nearly as exhausted as he felt.  He reached over to Sofie, who laid curled in a sleeping bag at his right, and shook her awake, motioning in the direction of the approaching Professor, as she came into consciousness.  The two stood, preparing to meet the Headmistress half way, when Professor McGonagal gestured for them to remain where they were.

She climbed the steps to the head table with some difficulty, due to complete exhaustion and fell into a chair next to where James stood.  “I trust that everything is in order?” she asked.

James nodded, “All students were accounted for as of…” he glanced at his watch, “twenty minutes ago.”

Professor Mcgonagall let out a surprisingly, undignified yawn.  “Good. Good.  Well the castle has been thoroughly searched and aside from a few boggarts and a poorly timed joke from Peeves, it was completely uneventful.  Everyone is free to return to their dormitories and get some proper rest.  Classes will be canceled for today.  Can I rely on you two to guarantee everyone makes it there?”

James nodded but it was Sofie who voiced the question that was bouncing around his head.  “Professor, do you have any idea who it was or even what they would want?”

Professor Mcgonagall flashed them a weary look.  “No.  I’m afraid that we have no idea.  We’ve alerted the Ministry and can only hope that this is the last we’ll hear of it.”

 

\-----

Three days had passed since the Code Phoenix Flint and James felt that it had taken him all three to catch up on his sleep.  Even as he sat at breakfast, on Thursday, sipping his coffee he could feel his eyelids drooping shut.  He let them stay closed for a brief moment, relishing in just how ‘right’ it felt and pondering what he’d have to do to convince Bria to cover tomorrow’s hospital wing shift, when he heard the first of the owl post flutter through the Great Hall. 

He watched as various owls swooped in and happily hooted as they found the recipients of their waiting package or letter.  James spotted his own family’s tawny owl, Artemis, trailing in after the masses and smiled as he landed in front of him, sticking out his leg.  James reached to untie the waiting letter when Bria let out an angry screech, distracting him from the task.  He looked to see her barreling towards the Gryffindor table, letter in hand, looking positively furious.  He wasn’t terribly surprised when he saw her stop in front of her brother, Collin.

“You little TWAT!”  She spat.

James jumped to his feet to intervene.  Girlfriend – err, fake girlfriend - or not, students couldn’t scream obscenities in the middle of the dining hall.  “Woah, woah, woah, what is going on here?”  James looked from Bria to Collin and couldn’t help but instantly fear for the latter’s life when he saw the smug grin plastered across his face and the rage within Bria’s eyes. 

“This little SHITE told dads about us!” Bria shrieked. 

Collin’s smile broadened and James had to resist the urge to join in on berating him.  “It came from a good place!  They were worried that you would get back together with Nick and I just informed them that they didn’t have to worry about that anymore.” He sat back smugly and crossed his arms. 

“Oh yeah?”  She smirked, almost maniacally as she spoke.  “And what part of that good place did telling them that you saw me leaving the Gryffindor boy’s dorm in his clothes, come from?” She started hitting him over the head with the letter repeatedly, each time, full of more force and hatred.  Collin only laughed harder the angrier she became. 

 “Bria.  Bria.  Bria!”  James tried to lightly steer her away from the table but she was entirely transfixed on injuring her brother.  “BRIA!  Fine, five points from Ravenclaw.”

She instantly stopped the abuse and turned her attention to James, her eyes burning dangerously.  The intensity of her look caused James to actually take a step back and put his hands up in surrender.  “I’m sorry.  I can’t let you assault another student in the middle of the Great Hall.  I’m Head Boy for Merlin’s sake!” 

“Oh really?  Ok.  Why don’t you read that, then?”  She said with a superior tone to her voice as she motioned to his waiting owl. 

As he reached down and untied the letter, he glanced at Jack and Cameron who weren’t even trying to suppress their hysterics. He angrily and wordlessly flashed them a sign to try and silence them as he unrolled the letter.

_James,_

_We just received a visit from Dean and Seamus about your relationship with their daughter.  As glad as I am that you ARE, in fact, finding some time for – er, fun, and as much as we adore Bria (she’s quite a catch, love), I don’t think parading your half-naked girlfriend around the common room is very appropriate.  I was young once too but I can assure you that sexual exploits are certainly better kept private.  We’ll be discussing this with the Thomas-Finnigans on Saturday, at their house, and we expect you both to be there._

_Lots of love,_

_Mum_

James could feel his face drop more with every line of the letter that he read.  He felt nauseous at the thought of his mother and sexual exploits; he was growing more murderous by the second.  When he finally looked up, Bria was staring at him with a knowing, self-satisfied smirk.  “See?”

James took a deep breath and nodded.  Then he walked with eerily calmness over to Colin, he bent down so that his mouth almost touched his ear and whispered in the most ominous tone he could muster.  “I’m only Head Boy for the rest of this year.  Then I’m out of this school and you will pay for this.  I’m not going to tell you when.  I’m not going to tell you how.  I’m not going to tell you where.  Just know that it will happen when you least suspect it.”  James watched happily as the colour drained completely out of Collin’s face and then looked up to meet Bria’s eyes, happy to see that she now wore a genuine smile.  “Better?”  He asked.

She beamed.  “Better!”

He smiled proudly and grabbed her hand, “Ok, love.  Let us depart, then.  We have some things to discuss.”  And they turned and left the dining hall.

They had to walk a bit before finding an empty classroom to provide them privacy.  As soon as they were inside Bria announced, “Alright, I guess we have to break up early!”

James wasn’t sure why, but that sentence made him dislike Collin Thomas Finnigan even more intensely.  The little twat, which WAS the perfect word for him, had interfered to the point of jeopardizing their perfect plan.  James prided himself on his perfect plans.  Well, besides the glitter bombs, the time he tricked Albus into running away, and the multiplying spell that HAPPENED to fall on a passing cockroach.  Besides that, his plans tended to be masterful and Collin had risked ruining that.  Yes, that was the sole reason that he currently wanted to punch him in the face. 

Bria continued when he didn’t respond.  “I really think everyone believes us anyway so we don’t have to drag this out.  How do you think we should do it?  We can’t have a big fight because then people would wonder how we stay friends?  Maybe we’ll just tell our parents that we broke up a while ago and then just start being more distant in school?” 

“We can’t break up.”  James said matter-of-factly.

Bria raised her eyebrows.  “I’m sorry?  Can you repeat that?  I must be hearing something because I thought that you just said that you would rather go have an awkward talk with ALL OF OUR PARENTS about our non-existent sex life than break up a week early?”

“Hear me out!  We can’t break up because they’ll assume that we’re lying.  How convenient would that be that we happen to break up right when we were ratted out?  I mean, between the four of them they are personal friends with most of the staff, who all have seen our kissing, hand holding, and canoodling as recently as today.  No.  They’ll just assume that we said we we’re broken up and are sneaking around Hogwarts, hooking up.”

Bria let out a childish giggle.  “Did you just say canoodling?” 

James’s heart swelled at the sound.  “I did.  I’m very manly so I can get away words like that.  So…” James said as he lowered onto one knee and took her hand.  She looked at him with mocked annoyance.  “Bria Thomas Finnigan, will you once again be my fake girlfriend and go and have an absurdly awkward sex talk with all four of our parents?”

Bria was laughing uncontrollably by the time he ended the sentence.  She took a deep breath and dropped her voice to mock seriousness.  “Oh, Jamie!  You know I will!”

They both laughed and James lifted her into his arms and twirled her around. 

 

 

Despite the confidence that he had projected for Bria a few days prior, James was utterly terrified about this dinner.  He tried on six shirts before finally finding Scorpius and forcing him to be his personal fashion assistant – many negative things could be said about Malfoys but never that they didn’t know how to dress!  He wasn’t sure why he was obsessing so much over his appearance. Today certainly wasn’t his first impression with the Thomas Finnigans; that was taken care of when he was two.  Still, there was something about their first meeting after the men were made to believe he was sleeping with their daughter that seemed rather important.  Never mind that he really did want them to like him for some reason.  Those were thoughts for another day though.

“So?  Is this the outfit?”  He asked, holding out his arms and turning around for appraisal.

“I wish we knew for sure if there were going to be hors d’oeuvres or a soup served.”  Scorpius lamented for about the hundredth time since beginning this project.

James rolled his eyes, noticing his brother doing the same from the bed and chuckled.  “There won’t be, Scorp.”

“Right. Okay then.  Assuming that we are correct that it won’t be a multi-course meal then this outfit is suitable.  Don’t you think, Albus?”   

“Mmmhmm.”  The very bored fifth year mumbled from behind a book on the bed. 

“Yes.  Blue is definitely the better colour on you.” Scorpius said, assessing James one last time.  “It’s funny because you and Albus look so much alike but you definitely favour blues and Albus’s eyes make him look so striking in green.” 

James raised his eyebrows and smirked at Scorpius who appeared to immediately fluster and look towards the boy stretched out on the bed.  To his relief, Albus had finally, successfully tuned them out and was immersed in his book.  James laughed and slapped Scorpius on the back.  “Thanks for your help, mate.  I couldn’t have done it without you.”  Scorpius still appeared to be in a state from his brush with embarrassment and was unable to answer, so James turned his attention to Albus.  “See you Al!”  He faintly heard another mumble come from the bed as he crossed the room and walked out of the door. 

Since James had been at Quidditch practice this morning when Bria left, he was planning to floo into the Potter home to ensure that he and his parents would arrive at dinner together.  There was no way he was walking into the dragon’s lair solo.  He made his way to the Headmistress’s office, pausing to mutter the password ‘Emeric Switch,’ and then ascending the spinning staircase.

Professor Mcgonagall was barely visible, seated behind her desk hunched over piles of various parchment and books.  She looked up over the tops of her glasses, pursing her lips as he passed the desk.  He gave her a smile and a nod and stepped into the fireplace.  “Mr. Potter, the floo powder is in the golden chalice to your right.”  Then she smirked.  “Good luck at your dinner tonight.”

James grabbed a handful of floo powder and flashed her his warmest smile.  Professor Mcgonagall tried to treat him with the same business only demeanor that she did the other students but he knew that she loved him.  “Thanks professor.”  And then throwing the floo powder down at his feet he stated, “Potter Residence” and the office disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 

The first thing that he noticed was the smell.  Slightly burnt treacle tart intermingling with his dad’s cologne, the window must have been cracked because there was the familiar hint of moist soil wafting in from the garden.  The odd mix of aromas shouldn’t have been pleasant but to James they smelled like home.  He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before stepping out of the fireplace. 

“Hey!”  His father beamed at him as he closed the distance between them and pulled James into a back breaking hug.  “I don’t love that we have to do this but I do love that I get to see you mid-term.”  He released James and took a step back just as his mum scurried into the room. 

“Yeah, sorry about this…I can only say that it wasn’t exactly as it seemed?” 

Ginny snorted, pulling her son into a loving embrace.  “Yes, yes.  I’m sure the two of you have worked out a nice little dinner’s theater for us all about it.”  She raised her eyebrows in a playful, accusatory way.  He flushed slightly under his mother’s gaze because it was true that he and Bria had coordinated their ‘stories’ the previous night.  She smiled before continuing, “Right, well let’s go then!  I am excited to spend some time with Dean and Seamus.  It’s been ages.”

“Oh yes!”  His father added sarcastically.  “I just can’t wait to spend time with Dean!”  He nudged Ginny’s shoulder, playfully as the trio made their way to the fireplace.

 

Landing into the Thomas Finnigan’s living room was a bit disorientating.  James hadn’t been in this house since he was a toddler but there was a vague familiarity to it that he couldn’t quite place. 

Before he could try and figure it out, Dean rushed in from the adjacent room and exclaimed, “Potters!” ringing Harry’s hand and pulling Ginny into a tight hug.  James’s attention was on his father, curious if any old jealousy still lingered, when Dean rounded on him.  “James Potter.”  James tried to hide his terror by smiling and extending his hand.  Dean swatted it away and embraced James quickly before stepping back and looking him up and down.  “Look at you!  You’re a proper man now.”  And then only to his parents, “Where did the time go?”

James tuned the adults out; he didn’t think he was expected to participate in the “they grow up so fast” conversation, and instead let his attention bounce around the room, hoping that Bria would pop in at any moment.  His eyes fell, instead, to her other father who was just coming through the same door that Dean entered though, moments before.  James flashed him a smile and extended his hand.  “Mr. Finnigan.” 

Unlike Dean, Seamus grabbed his hand and shook it firmly.  “It’s actually Thomas Finnigan for me too.”  He corrected.  “Bria’s room is the second door at the top of the stairs; let her know that dinner is ready.” 

James nodded and thankful for the excuse, bounded out of the room and up the stairs, taking two steps at a time.  As soon as he reached the top it became apparent why Bria hadn’t heard them arrive.  There was loud, boisterous music coming from her room and when he reached the entrance the sight in front of him made his face split into a huge, involuntary grin.

Bria was wearing a pale yellow sun dress and dancing theatrically around her room.  She was using a hairbrush as a microphone and was singing strange, muggle lyrics about giving a man after midnight.  James leaned against her door jam to enjoy the show, watching as she threw her hands in the air and spun around.  Not being able to contain himself any longer, James let out a chuckle and Bria startled at the unexpected sound.  He gave her no time to even think about being embarrassed as he grabbed her hands and immediately began dancing, mimicking the very unique dance moves that he had just picked up.  Bria fell into uproarious laughter and the duo danced ridiculously until the song ended and the dropped onto her bed. 

Neither was able to speak right away as they laid, chests heaving, attempting to catch their breath.  Bria looked over at James and they shared a smile.  “You know, I think Jack would absolutely love to choreograph a routine to that little number!  He said.

Bria must have already been on the cusp of laughter because she instantly chortled at his words, inhaling so deeply that an accidental snort escaped her.  James’s eyes widened like a kid on Christmas morning.  “What was that?”  He asked, excitedly.

Bria was giggling embarrassedly, “Nothing, nothing!  You didn’t hear anything.”

James reached over and started tickling her, “I did!  You snort when you laugh!  Do it again!”

“NOOOO!”  Bria squealed.  “It was a one-time thing.  Now stop, stop!”

Bria pushed James away and he let his weight drop next to her onto the bed, burying his head in the pillow to stifle his laughter.  He inhaled and immediately recognized the familiar scent.  “Lavender!”  He shouted.

She shot him a very confused look.  “Huh?”

“You smell like your house.  Or your house smells like you, rather.  It’s because you put lavender in your hair, right?”  James asked.

Bria stared at him for a moment before smiling, “Yeah, my dads have always used it in the laundry so I like to use it in my hair.  It reminds me of home.”

He understood this, perfectly.  Most students at Hogwarts had little trinkets and things that they kept close to remind them of home.  James had slept with a blanket that his Gran knitted for the first five years of school, although he wasn’t about to admit that.  “Makes sense.  Well, your Da actually sent me up to fetch you for dinner so we better head down.”  Without thinking, James closed the space between them and placed a quick, chaste kiss on Bria’s lips before standing up and extending his hand. 

It wasn’t until he was standing expectantly while Bria remained frozen on the bed, staring at him strangely that he even realized he had done it.  “OH!  Err…sorry.  I don’t…I guess we’ve been working so hard at making this look natural that it just sort of became…natural.  You know?”

Bria instantly softened.  “Right.  Yeah, yeah.  No worries, at all.”  She gave him a reassuring smile. “I guess we should go and get this over with.”  With that she grabbed his hand and the two headed down the staircase. 

As they approached the entrance to the kitchen, James stopped just short of entering and took a deep breath, trying to rid himself of any last anxieties.  Bria gave his hand an encouraging squeeze and they walked in, fingers entwined.

The four adults all sat around the kitchen table, happily chatting when the teenagers’ sudden appearance drew their attention away from whatever topic they were discussing.

“It’s about time!”  Dean said with a smile.  “Sit, sit.  Da made a delicious roast.”

“It smells amazing.”  James said, nodding his approval in Seamus’s direction as he took the open seat in between his mum and Bria.

Seamus narrowed his eyes at him.  “You know James, you’re my least favourite Potter.”  His parents chuckled at that but Dean gave Seamus a light smack on the arm.  James simply raised his eyebrows and waited for him to continue.  “Oh there’s no more.  I just thought you should know.”  Seamus continued dismissively.

James was going to respond but Bria snorting at his side stole all of his focus.  “It happened again!”  He announced excitedly.  “You absolutely snort when you laugh!  How am I just finding this out?  This is the best day of my life!”

Bria was laughing and pushing James flirtatiously as the adults all eyed them with amused, knowing expressions on their faces. 

“Ok, ok.  Let’s cut to the chase here.”  James and Bria immediately froze at Seamus’s quick change in tone. “Gin and Harry tell us that they have been pretty open with you about how to be safe.  And we’ve had that discussion with Bri Bear as well!” 

“DA!” Bria shouted embarrassedly.

In an attempt to placate the situation, Dean broke in.  “Da is just trying to ask if we can assume that you two are being safe?”

Bria looked like she might actually die so James was left with no choice but to field the awkward questions on his own.  “Yes sir.  Yes.”  James managed to sputter out.

“There!  That wasn’t so terrible, was it?  Now we can eat.”  Seamus announced as he grabbed a bowl from the center of the table.

James exhaled deeply and felt some of Bria’s tension melt away at his side when Ginny decided to chime in.  “I also think that you two could be a little bit more – “ she struggled to find an appropriate word before finally settling on, “discreet.”

“Mum!”  James let out exasperatedly, sounding more seven than seventeen.  “I already told you that that was a situation that was out of our control.”

“Your mother is right, James.  Whatever the situation, next time take it to a more private venue.  Or, bloody hell, at least use the cloak to lead her out.”  Harry added.

Everyone laughed, the tension finally broken and James began piling his plate with food – his nerves had forced him to skip lunch. 

“Oh, before I forget.”  Ginny cut in, “I already spoke to Victoire about the wedding.  She put you in at the head table with James.  She was a little irritated that she hadn’t known sooner but everything is squared away now.” 

The reprieve that James had from anxiety was brief because with his mother’s words his nerves had returned in an instant.  Teddy and Victoire were to be married on the first of the year and James was one of the best men.  Now they had reorganized part of the wedding to accommodate his fake girlfriend. 

It was as though Bria had read his mind because she immediately attempted to turn down the invitation.  “I really don’t want to intrude!”

“I don’t think you’ve met Victoire.  Trust me when I say that it would be better if you went rather than us having to owl her again.”  Harry said.  “Anyway, Scorpius will be there too so it should be a good time.”

Bria gave Harry a genuine smile.  “That does sound like fun.  Thank you for thinking of me.”

The evening actually turned out to be quite fun.  The conversation was light and comfortable, rotating between funny anecdotes from Hogwarts and embarrassing stories from James’s childhood.  Strangely, James kept thinking about future holidays with the Thomas Finnigans and had to repeatedly remind himself that this was all pretend.  After they said their goodbyes to their parents – who James strongly suspected would be breaking out the firewhiskey once they left – he and Bria floo’d back to Hogwarts.  They walked in silence until they reached the point in their stroll when they’d have to part.

“So, I guess we’re going to be a couple a little bit longer than we had anticipated.”  James said somewhat awkwardly.

“I looks that way.”  Bria said.  “It’ll be fine though.  Neither of us has time to really date anyway.”

“Very true.”  James said with a laugh. “ Well, goodnight Bri Bear.”  James’s mouth curled into a devilish smirk.

Bria groaned and she walked away, yelling back over her shoulder.  “I had really hoped you didn’t hear that.”

James laughed and started walking down the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower.  Overall, today went much better than expected. 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had only expected this fic to be around 10,000 words. I'm clearly terrible at estimates since there's still two chapters left.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I, like so many others, was having a very hard time on Wednesday. I decided that the best coping strategy was escapism and spent the ENTIRE day writing. I finished this fic and completed my entire outline for part 2. Then, being the graceful flower that I am, tripped and dropped my laptop, watching as it busted into a million pieces. My hard drive is dead and I am depressed. SO this chapter was recreated on my cell phone...It's probably rough. You've been warned.

"...and three drop of Phoenix tears for pain."  Bria dictated as she mindlessly played with the tuft of hair at the base of James's neck.  His handwriting had become nearly illegible over the last two hours, but since this was their fourth attempt at the same potion formula, Poppy was going to have to decipher it somehow.  "So does that cover all of the requirements?"

"Swelling.  You forgot to address the swelling."  Phoebe chimed in from across the table.  The fact that she was able to easily memorize the requirements of their project, while completing an essay of her own, was a testament to how long they had been working on it.  

"BALLOCKS!"  James shouted exasperatedly, tossing the parchment onto the table and falling back into Bria's arm.  "That's it!  I can't work on this for another minute."

"Did you seriously just work for all that time for nothing?"  Evie asked.  "I am almost done with all of my work for the entire week!"

"Yes.  And we still have to complete all those assignments too."  Bria stated dramatically, letting the bulk of her weight drop into James's side.  "Pity us!"

James yawned.  "I really should take a nap before the match today anyway.  So are you going to sit with Scorp and Albus on the Slytherin side or will you be with this crew on the winning side?"  James asked, smiling playfully and poking Bria in the ribs.  

She batted his hands away.  "Neither, you know that I have my shift with Pomfrey today."

"Yeah, I know.  I just thought that you could sneak away for a little bit since it's such an important match."  James said sheepishly, avoiding Bria's eyes.  

He could feel Bria eyeing him, trying to assess whether this was her fake boyfriend asking or her friend.  She must have found an answer there for she hesitantly responded, "I really don't think the Popster would like that very much."  

"Yeah, you're probably right."  He said, trying to swallow his disappointment.  In truth, James really did want Bria to be there.  Not only because he always felt centered when she was around but because over the past three months they had become genuine friends, best mates really, and yet she still hadn't seen him play.  He dislodged himself from her and stood.  "Well, I'm going to go get started on that nap."  For a moment, he thought about just leaving but he knew that that  would be too obvious and immature, so he instead dipped and gave Bria a quick kiss before turning to depart.  

"Goodnight, Bug-a-Boo."  Bria called from behind him - after James had taken to torturing Bria with her childhood nickname, she had written his mum to acquire equitable ammo - and that traitorous woman had complied!  

He chuckled, "Night, night, Bri-Bear."

\-----------

"Are you ready for this?"  Jack shouted in his best captain voice.

"Yes!  Let's do this!"  James said with a false bravado, he hoped that no one could hear the nerves lacing his voice.  This match was extremely important and, although he would have never told Jack, he felt a little bit off of his game today.  

Jack started pacing back and forth as he spoke, clearly not able to contain his manic energy.  "We've earned this win.  We've been working harder than any team."  James and his teammates shouted their agreements.  "Beaters, keep your focus on Boyle and we are golden!  "This is OUR match.  Let's not let Slytherin take it from us.  Now Gryffindor on three."  The team obeyed their captain's call to arms and threw their hands on top of each other.  "One, two, three..."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Jack made his way to the entrance of the locker room and waited for his teammates to exit - it was a long time superstition of their team that the captain should be the last to step foot on the pitch.  He clapped them each hard on the back and nodded to them as they passed.  James was the last to walk by, smiling as Jack pulled him into a brief, tight hug and the two made their way into the stadium.

The competing sounds that met them were deafening.  Loud, excited chants were echoing throughout the Gryffindor stands as the Slytherins attempted to drown them out with their boos.  James usually lived for this moment; the adrenaline rush that came just before a match - today, however, he was slightly terrified and could only hope that the feeling would subside once the game began.  He shook out his arms and legs, attempting to physically shake the nerves off of him.  As he mounted his broom he let his attention drift to his captain.  That was when he saw her, right over Jack's left shoulder, entering the Gryffindor stands.

Her usually well manicured curls had given way to pure frizz and her healer's robes were visible under her, despite the cold, unbuttoned coat.  Her chest was heaving as if she had run to make in their on time which made James's heart swell for some reason.  When he pulled his attention away from her he saw Jack, who wore an amused smile and shook his head.  "You're hopeless, you know?  I expect you'll be playing impressively then?"

"Oh you know it!"  And he meant it.  He was ready now.  

Impressively was an understatement for how James played that day.  Not only had they absolutely decimated Slytherin with a score of 280 - 30 but James set a house record.  The most points scored by a single chaser in a single match - 110.  Gryffindor went absolutely ballistic when the snitch was caught; most of the stands pouring down onto the pitch.  MOST of the stands, anyway, just not the one person who James really wanted to see at that moment.  

By the time James had finished with the team wrap-up meeting and a shower over two hours had passed.  He was sure that the Gryffindor celebratory party would be in full swing by now but he had no interested in attending.  Instead he happily made his way to the hospital wing.  When he entered, the room was desolate save for the girl crouched in front of a row of shelves, bottles of various potions littered at her feet.  

Bria turned to look at him as he entered.  "Shouldn't you be celebrating?" She asked exasperatedly.

James beamed at her.  "Yeah, well...I assumed that you would be behind on your work since you took a break.  I thought we could tag team it."

"Don't be ridiculous!  Go enjoy yourself! You're the hero of the hour."  Bria said waving him away.

Instead of leaving James made his way over and sat down next to her, pulling a box of potions to his side.  

Bria stared at him for a moment.  "I know what this is."  She stated abruptly, James only looked at her quizzically.  "This is because of that saying...you know, 'There ain't no party like a party where you organize anti-vomiting potions.'"  She said as she held up a vial.  

James laughed wholeheartedly as he grabbed the vial out of her hand and put it on the appropriate shelf.  "Yeah, something like that."  He said as he started to go through the box at his side.  Bria followed suit and the two worked side-by-side until James broke the silence a moment later.  "Thank you for coming today."  He said without looking at her.  

Bria chuckled.  "Don't be.  Everyone knows that your confidence could use a boost, I thought another fan might do the trick."  She replied sarcastically.

James met her eyes, suddenly serious.  "No. I'm being serious.  Thank you."

"I know."  Bria responded, seeming suddenly self-conscious.  "You just don't have to thank me for something so silly.  We're proper friends now.  It's past time I have seen you play."  They smiled at each other for a moment too long before Bria shook her head and settled back into her sarcastic demeanor.  "Anyway, I guess you weren't too terrible.  Not a complete embarrassment to your house."  She winked at him and returned to restocking the shelves. 

James watched her work for a moment before turning his attention back to the potions, himself.  Although the duo worked and conversed easily throughout the night, James couldn't stop thinking that things were starting to feel different somehow, less like playing pretend.  He did his best to shake the thoughts from his head but his efforts were fruitless. He'd never been so unsure of his own emotions, or more terrifyingly how someone else felt towards him. He sensed that a serious conversation was on the horizon. Not tonight though, tonight was a night of relaxed celebration - well, after the anti-vomiting potions were organized, anyway.

\---------

Before James knew it, the first half of the school year was coming to a close and it was about time to start packing to head home for Christmas.  Luckily, the professors had all seemed to ease up on coursework leading into the break.  James suspected this was less out of goodwill and more because they didn't want to have to do marking over Christmas but it was a pleasant change of pace, none the less.  Bria and James were walking down the corridor, hand-in-hand, enjoying a bit of their new found free time when Collin bounded up to them, out of breath.

"Just pretend I've been with you the whole time." He said between gasps.

Bria shot him a disapproving look. "What did you do now?"

"Shhhh. They're coming. Please, just act natural." He pleaded.

Bria rolled her eyes but complied, loudly yelling- "You lost fair and square. TWICE, now pay up before I write to dads." Just as three, angry Slytherin came running down the corridor. James had to work to mask the impressed expression that was creeping onto his face.

"Did you guys see anyone running this way?"  One of the Slytherins - a fourth year - asked, paying no attention to Collin.

James nodded. "I didn't see who it was but I just yelled at someone for running. He went down there." James said as he motioned to the steps to their left.

"Thanks, mate!" The kid said as they went to follow his directions but James stopped him.

"Make a smart choice though. I'm head boy and whether it's retaliation or not, I'll still take points for any violence."

The three nodded and descended the stairs slowly at first, picking up speed as they moved further away from James.

Collin looked like he was about to offer some explanation but James held up his hand to silence him. "I do not want to know! You were never here. Got it?"

Collin smiled. "I got it. I was just going to say that I owed you one. I can run interference with dads while you're over for Christmas...let you two have some alone time." He said while obnoxiously wiggling his eyebrows.

Bria rolled her eyes again and shoved her brother away. "Sod off."

"Come on, you loooove me."  He said, pulling her into a hug.

Bria struggled for a moment before melting into the hug. "I do but I don't know why. Now get out of here and try not to get your arse kicked. I'm sure you'll deserve it but I'm still obligated to come to your aid."

Collin flashed another mischievous smile before bounded back down the hall.

James just shook his head and laughed. "He's impossible." Bria nodded her agreement as James continued. "So, Christmas?"

"Oh yeah." Bria responded awkwardly. "My dads sort of invited you over for Christmas."

"Oh. And you don't want me to come." It wasn't a question, James had come to know Bria pretty well and if she wanted him there she would've invited him straight away.

Bria flashed him an apologetic smile. "It's just that my family doesn't really do that, ya know? It's usually just us for the holiday, only Mattie has ever even brought a girlfriend. It just felt a little bit too...intimate. Is that okay?"

James tried to ignore the pang in his chest. "Yeah, of course. It'll be a little bit weird not seeing you for so long but I totally understand."

"It won't be that long. I'll be over on the 30th for the pure torture that you signed me up for!" Bria shot back at him - James had told Vic that Bria would be willing to help with the table centerpieces for the wedding and he wasn't sure that she'd ever forgive him for it. "I figured that I could hang out for a bit after we're done? Maybe give you your Christmas present?"

James face lit up excitedly. "You got me a Christmas present?"

"It's nothing big!" Bria clarified. "And that doesn't mean that you have to run out and get me anything. I just saw it and thought of you."

"I've actually had your gift for weeks, I'll have you know." James said, defensively. "Now you don't get it since you think so little of me!"

Bria laughed. "You do what you have to do, mate. Now I really should get my trunk packed. I'll see you on the train?"

"Yeah, see you." James watched her until she disappeared around the corner and then turned towards his own dorm to finish packing.

\----------

The Potters all agreed that it had been the happiest Christmas in recent memory. The food was delicious, the gift giving heart felt, and the company was pleasant. James hadn't realized how negatively his and Albus's sour relationship had been impacting the family until it wasn't an issue anymore.

Scorpius arrived on Christmas day and the three of them, plus Lily, had been competing in a heated exploding snaps tournament over the past five days. Embarrassingly enough, Lily had won, which was news that she happily shared with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins who floo'd in to assist with wedding planning that day.

Every time James heard movement from the living room he ran in to make sure that Bria hadn't arrived.

"You know, love..." His mum said from the kitchen table. "I'm sure she'll be able to find her way to the kitchen without an escort."

Everyone chuckled, even his good natured Aunt Hermione hid her smile in a sip of tea. He felt his cheeks burn and  opened his mouth to spit out a retort when he heard the unmistakable sound of the floo. James froze for a moment before sending his family a glare and rushing into the living room. The crowd erupted into laughter but James did his best to block them out as he made his way over to his favorite partner in crime, who stepped from the fireplace, brushing ash from her hair.

Before she had time to fully acclimate, James had pulled her into a tight hug. "Ahhh, I actually really properly missed you." He said into her hair. "Who knew that I didn't have enough sarcasm in my life just living with Albus?"

Bria chuckled. "I like to think that my brand is less dripping with sibling rivalry and deep buried resentments, so maybe a tad more pleasant?" She leaned her head back just enough to look him in the face. "And I missed you too, strangely. Even if I still hate you a bit for this." She then stood on tip toes and a placed a too-brief kiss on his lips before breaking their embrace and launching herself at the patiently waiting fifth years, behind them.

The three had fallen to the floor from the force of the hug and were giggling madly at their lack of coordination when Lily entered the room. She raised her hands above her head and yelled, "Bri!," before falling onto the pile.

Bria mimicked her greeting, shouting "Lils!," before starting to tickle her relentlessly.

James was just about to question the exchange, he wasn't aware that Bria and Lily had a relationship, when Victoire entered the room and demanded everyone's focus. "If we could just wrap this up and move into the kitchen? We have a lot to get done today."

Bria pulled a terrified face at James but complied and the group followed Victoire into the kitchen.

"Okay everyone. All of us, girls, will be split into groups and working on the flower centerpieces while the men will be setting up the tents and tables." James couldn't help but notice that his mother, sister, and Bri all wore very similar faces upon hearing the strict gender roles that Vic had assigned.  "The supplies that you'll need are in these boxes so just grab one and get started!"

Before joining the que of men, waiting to floo to the Burrow, James gave Bria's arm a reassuring squeeze. She hardly noticed as she was currently attempting to adhere directly to Ginny and Lily, clearly to avoid a more awkward grouping outcome.

He cringed, hoping that the experience wasn't too painful for her. Mostly because he knew he'd never hear the end of it if it was awful. He joined his brother and Scorpius and headed to the Burrow for a day of labour.

Well, it was supposed to be a day of labour, anyway. Apparently James's grandpa had become a little overzealous in his excitement for the wedding and had already assembled the tents and half of the tables.  So instead it was a half an hour of finishing touches, followed by two hours of laughter and butterbeer. All the men had agreed to keep that information private, though.

When Harry, James, Albus, and Scorpius floo'd back to the Potter residence, they were met with a strange smell. Burning hair or perhaps feathers? It was hard to tell, but the hysterical laughter coming from the kitchen was easily identifiable.

"No, no, no...that's worse. That's so much worse!" Bria said before falling back into a fit of giggles.

"It's better than your attempt!" Lily howled, "At least it's not blue!"

"Oh no! We're in so much trouble." Ginny said through her laughter.

The men made their way into the kitchen and couldn't help but join in on the laughter when they caught sight of the "flower arrangement" that the trio had been attempting. James could only assume that it was supposed to be some type of bird, or maybe birds, made out of flowers? It really was indistinguishable at this point.

"What did you do?" Harry chortled.

"Hey!" Ginny spat back with fire in her eyes. "We never said that were suited for this! We're not frilly. Intelligent, yes."

"Talented!" Bria added.

"Fierce!" Lily stated proudly.

"Yes! But frilly, we are not." Ginny finished before the three fell back into hysterics, clutching on to one another for support.

James felt a warming sensation spread through him as the thought, "The Potter Girls" pulled at his mind. He batted the thought away like an irritating fly as he moved towards Bria.

"Fantastic work." He said sarcastically.

She pushed his shoulder. "Oh, shut it! I didn't even want to do this if you recall."

"Alright, alright. Move out of the way. I think I can handle frilly." James's dad broke in.

Scorpius moved to stand next to him, in front of the floral atrocity. "Me too. I'm frilly. Or I can do frilly. Or...I can help."

James took advantage of his family's distraction and pulled on Bria's sleeve. "Presents?" He whispered.

Bria nodded enthusiastically before moving to her bag and pulling out a fairly small package and motioning for James to lead the way.

He took her by the hand and led her to his surprisingly clean room. His mum had insisted that their rooms were spotless for the various company over Christmas. James retrieved the tiny package from his bed side table and sat next to Bria who was warmly surveying a picture that sat on his dresser, a photograph of Albus, Scorpius, Bria, and him laughing in the great hall.

"A gift from Albus." He offered.

She smiled. "That was sweet. Anyway, here you go." She said as she handed him the brown, wrapped rectangle.

James happily tore the paper and was thrilled to see a handsome, brown, leather writing journal, with a shining, gold JSP marking the front. "This is beautiful!" He said, genuinely.

Bria shifted closer to him so that she could open the journal in his hands. "It's not just parchment. There's an organizer in the front, right here. I put a charm on it so that my nagging voice will remind you about any assignments you haven't completed. I figured you'd need it since you'll be without me next year."

"Only for half the day." James corrected her.

"Maybe. We still don't know if I got the internship. I don't want to get my hopes up." Bria said matter-a-factly.

"Either way. Thank you so much." He said as he pulled her into a loving embrace. When he released her, he dropped the small box into her lap. "Now open mine."

Bria carefully slid the bow off of the light blue box and opened the lid, revealing the Victorian style, brass locket. "Jewelry?" She questioned hesitantly.

"Open it up." James prompted.

When Bria opened the locket she let out an audible gasp as her eyes and nose registered the stimuli at the same time - lavender.

"It's in a sort of magical stasis so it shouldn't ever die. That way, even if you forget to put the oil in your hair, you always have a piece of home." The longer that Bria was silent, the more nervous he became. Maybe he had overstepped? "Neville helped me with it. If you don't like it..." 

"James." Bria interrupted. "My gift was totally inadequate."

"No! I love -"

"James, I got you paper. And you got me this." The way her voice enveloped around 'this' made it clear that it was something she already cherished. She looked him hard in the eyes, hers now brimming with tears. "Thank you."

He was going to wave away her thanks and make a sarcastic comment but before he had the chance she had pulled him into a warm hug, her head resting on his shoulder. Instead James closed his eyes and pulled her closer still. The embrace was lasting much longer than necessary and he felt his pulse quicken as he remembered that they were alone. That this was just for them. He had started to tentatively run a hand through her hair when the door flew open and his cousins, Hugo and Louis ran into the room completely ruining the moment.

"BUSTED!" They yelled in unison.

"Oi!"James yelled as he launched a pillow at the obnoxious boys.

Louis dodged the pillow and it knocked Hugo square in the face - served him right! "You two need to come downstairs. Everyone's back and there's drunk parents and unsupervised firewhiskey!" Louis shouted enthusiastically.

James laughed and looked back to Bria who was fastening her gift around her neck. "What do you think?" He asked.

"I have to get home anyway. My dads are going to a party tonight and they want us all home, they don't like us traveling while they're out." Bria responded.

"Alright, I'll walk you down." James said as he stood and offered his hand. Bria accepted it without hesitation and they made their way downstairs.

When she noticed that Bria was headed towards the fireplace, James's Grandma shouted, drawing everyone's attention to them. "Awww! Are you leaving so soon, love?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I have to be home to ensure Colin doesn't murder Sean while my dads are out." Bria said with a smile.

Grandma Weasley made her way over and pulled Bria into a hug. "Well thank you for your help today. The centerpiece turned out beautifully!"

Bria tried to hide the surprise on her face but quickly found Ginny's eyes, who was excitedly pointing to a beautiful floral arrangement and giving her a thumbs up.  Bria chuckled and said to everyone, "Well, I'll see everyone day after tomorrow."

When she turned to face James, the question on her mind was apparent so he answered accordingly. "They're most certainly pretending not to watch."

Bria chuckled, "I guess we better make it a good one then."

When there lips met, it was unlike any kiss the two had shared. It may have been unlike any kiss James had ever had. It was sensual without being overly passionate, loving without being chaste. It was intimate in a way that James had never experienced and it may have gone on forever if not for his cousin Rose and her loud interruption.

"Get a room!"

Bria pulled back, slightly flustered. "Right." She sputtered. "I'll see you, then." And with that she was gone with a flash of light and smoke.

James stayed up entirely too late that night talking and laughing with his extended family. It was always a party when the entire Weasley clan was together and he never wanted to miss out I a second of it. When he finally climbed into bed, he drifted off easily into a dreamless sleep. 

Being shaken out of that sleep, what felt like minutes later, was extremely disorienting. He blinked his eyes rapidly, attempting to bring the voice and face into focus.

"James. Wake up." This time he heard it clearly but that knowledge didn't make the wake up call make any more sense.

"Dad?" James asked bewildered.

"James, you have to come with me." His Dad, said sternly, his eyes full of sadness and was that fear? 

At his Dad's appearance and demeanour, James sat up, suddenly terrified. "What is it? What's happened?"

It was clear that he didn't want to answer, that he wanted to spare his son some pain. The thought of it made James tremble. "There's been an attack. At the Thomas Finnigan's house."

James's eyes went wide with fear as the memory of his own voice rung in his ears. 'An unknown person for an unknown purpose attempted to enter Ravenclaw tower...'

James gasped, "Bria!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only one to go...

Bria. The panic clawed at James's chest until it felt like his heart was in a vice grip.  Never before had he experienced an emotion physically travel his body such as this; the constriction in his heart sent shooting pains down his arms and into his fingertips, it felt as though a rock was traveling from his chest and into his throat where it sat, making it impossible to swallow or even speak.  Not Bria. His breathing quickened to an alarming rate and black spots now lined his vision – he was sure he was going to either throw up or pass out.   Please, not Bria. He looked to his father, pleading with his eyes - pleading for him to take his physical pain away, pleading for him to make this all be a bad dream, pleading for him to just make her be okay, even if no one else was. 

 

Harry saw it at once and immediately held his eldest son to his chest and sat stroking his hair.  “Hey, hey.  Don’t do that.  We don’t panic until there’s a reason to panic.  They’re all alive.  Right now we know that they’re all alive.  We focus on that, okay?”

 

James could only nod and he did so repeatedly, in rapid succession.

 

“You need to breathe.”  His dad’s voice was still kind but had taken on a more authoritative, parental tone.  He pulled James away from his body so that he could look him in the eyes.  “You take this moment but it’s all you can get right now.  We’re needed at St. Mungo’s.  I need to do my job and no matter what the outcome, their family is going to need us both.”

 

James tried to not lose himself in the implications of the phrase, ‘no matter what the outcome.’  He had been in shock up until this point and he knew that if he started crying that there would be no stopping tonight.  Instead he took a deep breath in and tried to steady his voice, he could do this, he would do this.  “Dad, how bad is it?”

 

Harry hesitated, clearly not sure that James’s mental state could take any bad news.  James steadied himself and after a moment of surveying, Harry spoke.  “They fought hard.  From what I’m told, they’re all injured but only one is still in serious danger.  I don’t know who though.”

 

James stood immediately and grabbed his pair of dirty trousers from the floor, tugging them on and fastening the belt as he made his way towards the door.  “Let’s go, then.”

 

Harry hesitated for the briefest of moments, staring at his son with a combination of sadness and pride.  He then nodded and followed James out of the door.

 

 

They came out of the floo at a light run, startling the visitors lingering in the lobby.  For not the first time in James’s life, his father’s fame proved an asset as an employee immediately shouted to them.  “Mr. Potter, they’re one floor up.”

 

James didn’t have the patience to wait for the lift and instead bounded up the stairs, skipping steps as he went.  His mind immediately fell back to the last time he raced up the stairs to greet Bria, the way she looked spinning in circles, the yellow dress.  He shook his head hard.  We don’t panic until there’s a reason to panic. We don’t panic until there’s a reason to panic.  Due to his younger body and increased stamina, he reached the second floor before his father and quickly pushed his way through the door.  The sight that greeted him made him immediately wish he wasn’t confronting this moment on his own. 

 

Mattie and Sean – two former Gryffindors– sat on a bench outside of a door.  Mattie appeared unscathed but Sean had a few scratches and bruises adding more color to his face.  Mattie had his arm around his younger brother and was talking to him calmly as Sean nodded.  James’s heart wrenched as he noticed Dean pacing up and down the hall, tears staining his usually smiling face.  Guilt froze James to the spot.  If it’s not Bria then it’s Collin who is fighting for his life – annoying, charming, fifth year Collin, he hadn’t even given a second thought to the other children in his worry for Bria.

 

James startled as a hand touched his back. His dad nodded to him and together they started towards the grief stricken men.  “Dean?” 

 

Dean turned at once and looked relieved to see Harry, as if he could somehow make this entire mess disappear.  James wondered for a fleeting moment how his father handled these unrealistic expectations.  “Harry.  Thank you so much for coming.”  Dean said as he allowed Harry to pull him into a warm embrace. 

 

As they broke apart Harry asked, “So how are they?”

 

Dean swallowed hard before answering.  “It’s a brain bleed?  I don’t know…um, they’re doing their best…” 

 

James heard Sean fall into sobs beside them.  He tried not to look, wanting to allow him his privacy but his eyes were drawn to the pain for some reason.  Mattie was running his hand through Sean’s hair, much in the same way that his dad had done for him just a few moments ago.  The image brought a buried memory to the surface, Bria hated how Mattie acted like a third father but in this moment, James could only see it as a positive.

 

“They said that they might have to attempt a muggle surgery.  We’re just waiting to hear.”  Dean finished. 

 

“It’s Bria?”  He heard his dad ask and he had never loved the man more than he did in that moment.

 

“Oh God.  No, James I’m so sorry.”  Dean said turning to James.  “I should’ve said straight away.  No, Bria’s down the hall with the healers."  James exhaled for what felt like the first time since he was awoken.  He barely registered that Dean was still speaking in his comforted haze and could only hope that the the relief on his face didn't read as disrespect for the youngest Thomas Finnigan.  "It’ll probably do her good to see you.  You should go.”  Dean said as he pulled James into a hug.  James could only nod awkwardly before turning and heading in the direction that Dean had motioned.

 

It’s not Bria.  James pushed the guilt away for that brief moment and thanked every being on the planet that it was not Bria. 

 

“Hey James, wait up.”  Mattie called to him.

 

James stopped, “Yeah?”

 

“I just wanted you to be prepared.  Dad didn’t say…Bria’s not in a good state right now.  She’s in severe shock, she won’t let anyone touch her, they roughed her up really good.”  Mattie said, swallowing hard.

 

James tried to process what he was hearing.  “They hit her?”  James said with both disgust and disbelief.

 

Mattie could only nod as he bit his lip to suppress tears.  James did the only thing that he could think to do and pulled Mattie into a hug.  “Thanks for warning me.”  He said as he pulled away and Mattie turned to leave.  “And Mattie?  Make sure you’re taking care of yourself too.  You need to process.”

 

Mattie gave him a sad smile and a nod and went back in the direction of his dad and brother. 

 

As James neared the entrance to Bria’s exam room, his mind split into two.  Half of him wanted to run through the door immediately and see for himself that Bria was alive.  The other half was terrified to know the full extent of her injuries.  He was no coward though so he wiped his eyes – when had he started crying? – and pushed through the door.

 

He was met immediately by Bria’s voice, only there was something different to it.  James’s heart lurched as he realized it was fear, true life threatening fear lacing her every word.  He looked in and saw her, resembling more a wild animal than herself.  Her hair was a mess and her face – God, her face was so much worse than he could’ve imagined.  Bruising and swelling on both of her cheeks, cuts on her lips and above her right eye.  She kept her hands at the sides of her face as she rocked quickly back and forth, only slightly obscuring the blood stained Quidditch shirt that she wore. 

 

“Don’t touch me, Da.  Don’t touch me.”  Bria said as she fell into hysterical sobs.

 

Seamus stood in front of her speaking to her, with his tear strained voice, like one would a small child.  “Shhhh, love.  Bri Bear.  I’m here.  The healers need to look at you, love.”

 

More sobbing.  “Nooo.  NO no no.  Don’t touch me.  Please don’t touch me.”

 

“Ok, shhhh love.”  Seamus said as he noticed James for the first time.  Tears brimmed his eyes, threatening to spill over as he waved James further into the room.  “Bri Bear, James is here.”

 

Seamus motioned for him to approach Bria so he did, tentatively, and sat on the bed next to her.  He attempted to swallow the lump in his throat before he spoke.  “I’m right here, Bri.  I’m right next to you.”

 

Bria stilled on the bed for the first time since James had entered the room.  She took her hands from her face and immediately pulled herself into James’s lap.  Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her as she continued weeping.  “My brother’s going to die, James.  He’s going to die and it’s all my fault.”  At her words, Seamus lost his battle with the tears and fell into quiet sobbing in the center of the room.  Bria didn’t seem to notice, too lost in her own grief.  Suddenly she pulled her face from James’s shirt and looked him right in the eyes, hers wild and determined.  “You have to take me from here.  Please, I can’t be here.  I can’t sit here while he dies.”

 

James stared at her for a moment before looking at Seamus who simply nodded at him.  That was all the confirmation that he needed as he stood, scooped Bria up into his arms, and headed to the floo.  

Landing in the Potter's living room, Bria and James were immediately bombarded by Ginny, Lily, and Albus who had been waiting up for news. The younger Potters both gasped at the sight of Bria and Lily squeaked out a tearful, "Oh, Bria," before Ginny had a chance to shush her.

 

Bria signaled her need for privacy by burying her face further into James's chest. He took her cue and once again lifted her into his arms, they couldn't travel the floo with her cradled against him, and made his way to the bedroom.

 

Thankfully his room was the first at the top of the stairs and his door remained ajar from his quick exit. He kicked it the rest of the way open and moved through, gently placing Bria, in a sitting position, onto his bed. He made to grab his wand from his night stand but Bria's strong grip on his forearm stopped him.

 

"Don't leave." She squeaked.

 

He instinctively smoothed her hair with his free hand. "I'm not, I just need my wand." He said in his most gentle voice.

 

She nodded and retrieved his wand with a flick of her wrist. James held eye contact as he reached to accept it from her trembling hand. Instead of relinquishing it, however, her unoccupied hand pulled James to her, by his shirt and she locked their lips together in a hard, hungry kiss.

 

James kissed her back passionately, so relieved to have her safely enveloped in his arms. The taste of her was wrong, though, the salt of her tears still laying on her lips. Bria didn't seem to notice as her kisses became more desperate, her hands falling to his belt, working to undo the buckle. The desperation of the act cued James into Bria's motivation and he couldn't allow it. Having been brought back to his senses, he broke the kiss and pulled her back just far enough to survey her face.

 

He was met with her pleading eyes, her tear stained face as she croaked out a pain filled, "Please?"

 

The single word broke him and James felt the hot tears stream down his face once again. "No, love." He said, gently stroking her hair. "I think your ribs are broken." He let his hand trace the side of her, resting over her ribs. Her sharp intake of breath confirming his suspicions. "And anyway. I don't think that minute and a half would really be a suitable distraction for everything." His joke had the desired effect as Bria chuckled through her tears before falling back into sobs. James only kissed her forehead before lightly pushing her down into a laying position. "Now let's get you cleaned up and healed, okay?"

 

He started with the cuts and bruises on her face. First cleaning the blood off and then spelling the wounds closed, as he had done countless times in the hospital wing. He made a mental note to thank Poppy for the knowledge because with every spell Bria looked a bit more like herself.

 

Once her face had been tended to, save for the smallest cut on her bottom lip - James sometimes felt that the tinier cuts were more challenging due to the precision necessary - he curled his fingers in the hem of her shirt and tugged, signaling for her assistance to remove it. Bria complied pulling herself into a sitting position with a grimace and lifting her hands into the air. James gently pulled the blood stained shirt over her head and discarded it onto the floor as Bria collapsed back down into the pillow.

 

James shut his eyes tight for a moment to get his bearings because the image of Bria's bruised body was enough to throw him into a rage. The skin covering the left side of her ribs was now almost black, it was apparent that she had been kicked repeatedly. He swallowed the taste of bile in the back of his throat and shook the image out of his head.  He was not feeling overly confident about mending her ribs and was going to need his full concentration to complete the task.  

 

After an hour Bria was in a much better physical state although she still had some tenderness in her ribs, they would have to remember to have her examined by a proper healer in the morning.  Her sobbing had subsided more out of pure exhaustion than any emotional relief but it calmed James, none the less.  He gave her a clean, white t shirt to sleep in and retrieved a sleeping drought from the downstairs cabinet.  At first she was hesitant to take it but after being reminded that they had pep up potions on hand, she complied.  James laid facing her on the bed and pulled Bria to rest her head on his outstretched arm, cradling her against his body with his free arm.  Silently, she extinquished the lights and wept quietly into James's chest until the sleeping draught took affect and she drifted to sleep.  

 

James didn't remember falling asleep but he must have because he awoke with a start to his father and Dean standing over his bed.  It had to have been past noon, judging by the way the strong light drifted in through the hangings.  Bria was stirring at James's side and with a bit more coaxing was fully awake and alert.  Dean didn't allow her to worry for even a second before shouting, "He's going to be okay!"

 

"What?" Bria said suddenly breathless and still very groggy from the sleeping potion.

 

"The muggle surgery worked!  Collin is going to be okay."  Dean said with tears in his eyes and a wide smile plastered across his face.  James's dad wore an equally big grin and clapped Dean on the back happily as he spoke.  

 

Bria's hands flew to her mouth as she started crying, welcome tears this time, tears of joy and relief.  She stood on the bed and jumped into her father's arms, squealing with delight as they both cried happily.  James stood and his dad, having the identical desire, met him half way and pulled him into a tight embrace.  

 

"Now your brothers are worried sick and will not settle until they set eyes on you.  Are you up to coming back to St. Mungo's?"  Dean asked.

 

"Yes, yes.  Let's go!"  Relief flooded into James as he heard those four simple words.  Bria sounded like herself again and wore an immense smile as she headed to the door.

 

Dean stopped her immediately though, "Bri.  You need trousers."

 

Bria looked down, aware of her attire for the first time and pulled at the white shirt to try and cover her pants.  "Oops.  Right.  Sorry Dad!"

 

 

It took longer than they would've liked to depart. Between finding an appropriately sized pair of trousers (they settled on an old pair of Albus's joggers) and Ginny, Albus, and Lily fawning over Bria like they wanted to do the previous night, it was almost two o'clock by the time they entered Collin's room.

 

James followed behind Bria and couldn't make out which brother shouted, "Bri!" as she launched herself onto Sean's bed. Before James was even fully into the room, the four siblings became a tangle of limbs, embracing as they laughed and cried on the bed.

 

"Be careful with each other!" Dean chastised as he joined his husband in his chair, placing a kiss on Seamus's lips and nuzzling against his neck tiredly. Over the years, James had rarely seen this kind of affection from the couple. He could only assume that their discretion was a learned habit from their Hogwarts days and the display made him smile happily.

 

The Thomas Finnigan kids had detached from their initial hello and were falling back into their respective seats. Bria remained on the bed snuggled close to Collin, who James could now see looked extremely exhausted and wore a tight bandage around his head.

 

Seamus broke the happy silence first. "Oh, Harry. Do you think Bria can stay with you again tonight? We figured it might make things less complicated with the wedding tomorrow."

 

"Of course!" Harry broke in. "She's always welcome." He beamed at Bria who flashed a tired smile in return.

 

James instantly felt the need to protect her and decided to give her an out if necessary. "If you feel up to it. If not, Vic will understand."

 

"No I'll be fine." Bria replied lazily, laying her head on Collin's shoulder. "It'll be a good distraction."

 

"Great." Seamus said readjusting under the weight of his now sleeping husband. "Sean, that means you will be staying at Mattie's tonight since we aren't allowed back in the house yet. I don't want you two to separate though. Okay?"

 

"Not that he needs me!" Mattie announced proudly, throwing his arm around his brother. "That right bastard will never be the same after that sectumsepra he threw at him!"

 

Sean flashed an obligatory smile. "But he got away." He said in a disappointed time. "Bria was able to capture her guy even after..."

 

Sean let the sentence die on his tongue but everyone shifted awkwardly at the thought of where it was heading. It was Bria who broke the uncomfortable silence. "You had to make it to Collin." She stated matter-of-factly. "And for what it's worth, I don't think the rat bastard is going to be able to save that right arm."

 

"Which will make it a hell of a lot easier to find him." Harry added. "That reminds me, Bri, I need to get your official sequence of events. Do you think we could go across the hall?"

 

Bria nodded and started to stand when James cut in abruptly. "No." All the eyes in the room, save Dean's, were on him immediately. "She needs to see a healer first." James directed at his dad.

 

Bria's eyes flashed dangerously as her brothers looked between the two excitedly, waiting to see her reaction. James didn't balk under their stares.  "Do not speak for me." She said coldly.

 

James sucked his teeth in irritation before replying. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to speak for you. And although I'm flattered that you think so highly of my abilities, I am not a certified healer and I'm really worried about your ribs. You need to see a healer."

 

The duo just stared at each other for a few minutes before Collin broke in from the bed. "This is the part where she knows that you're right but it kills her so much to admit it that she considers NOT doing it, even if it's at great cost to herself." He flashed a cheeky smile before adding. "You'll get used to it."

 

James tried to bite back the smile that was creeping onto his face knowing that it would not be well received. Luckily, Bria's anger was now directed at her youngest brother. "Oi! You are so lucky that you just had brain surgery! I want to pop you so hard right now." She said as she made a fist, her other brothers giggling madly at her side.

 

"Sod off, the lot of you!" She spat, grabbing James's arm and heading to the door.

 

James only half heard someone yell through their laughter, "Headed to the healer?" as they walked out the door.

 

Bria pretended that she hadn't heard as she begrudgingly entered an examination room, murmuring about the 'epic waste of time,' and waited for the next available healer.

 

James tried not to act too superior when they were informed that Bria did, in fact, still have a broken rib. Apparently, James completed the assessment spell on the ribs as a whole, where you were supposed to do the spell on each rib individually.  As soon as the healer left the room to retrieve the necessary paperwork, Bria insisted that James help her angle her wand to mend the bone herself. She couldn't stand him having the experience advantage over her so, laughing and shaking his head, he complied. The healer was none too happy about it though, scolding them for wasting her time and sending them on their way. 

 

 

They met the three fathers in the consultation area across the hall from Collin’s room.  The room had a harsh, stuffy feeling that immediately put James off – the walls too white, the furniture too sterile.  James tried to imagine calling patients into this area to deliver bad news, in a few years, and immediately recoiled from the idea.  That was definitely part of the job that he was not looking forward to. 

 

“What did she say?”  Dean asked, motioning for them to take the open seats to his right, across from Harry and Seamus. 

 

They both sat down as Bria muttered, “One more broken rib.  It’s fixed now.”

 

James kept his face as emotionless as possible but his façade cracked when he locked eyes with Seamus, who sent him a wink.  James chuckled and immediately looked down at his hands in his lap. 

 

“I saw that.”  Bria shot to the both of them but she couldn’t keep the fondness out of her voice.

 

“So…”  Harry said, reminding them of the grim reason for their little meeting. “Let’s just get through this quickly.  Can you walk me through the events of last night, December 30th?”

 

Bria shifted uncomfortably and James started wondering if his presence was making this more awkward for her.  He was thinking of ways to make an exit when she slid her chair closer to his so that their legs were flush up against each other.  She avoided his eyes but it was apparent that she needed him and was embarrassed about it.  Without hesitation, he reached into her lap and entwined their fingers together. 

 

“It had to be around one o’clock?” She started.  “Yeah, because Collin went to bed around midnight and Sean and I stayed up to talk.  You know he has a girlfriend now?” She said to her dads who smiled and nodded.  “Well we were just sprawled out on opposite sides of the couch chatting when, out of nowhere, I got hit with a spell and knocked to the floor.  I didn’t see it happen, I’m not even sure which spell it was, but Sean must have been hit at the same time because he was laying on the floor next to me looking equally as confused.  I summoned my wand and stood and that’s when I saw them for the first time.  Two men.  Probably in their 40s?  I can’t be sure, I’m awful with ages.”

 

“Can you describe the one who got away?”  Harry broke in.

 

Bria’s eyes took on a distant look as she spoke, like she was trying desperately to remember every detail.  “He was about Scorpius’s height but not lanky like him.  He was solid – stocky - that’s the best word.  His skin tone was light like Da’s but his hair was much darker – almost black and he had a ridiculous thick mustache with no beard.  He wore brown wizard robes, they were nice too, the kind you’d wear to a dinner party.” 

 

Harry was nodding and writing as she was talking. “Good, good.”  He encouraged.  “Keep going.”

 

Bria’s grip on James’s hand tightened slightly.  “Well, Sean must’ve summoned his wand too because as soon as they were fully in the room, all hell broke loose.  Spells were being thrown back and forth – I couldn’t even tell you which ones.  I landed a few but it was nothing that knocked them out or anything.  I should’ve knocked them out at least.”  Bria’s mood had shifted and it was clear that she felt responsible for Collin’s injuries. 

 

Harry surveyed her for a moment before breaking in.  “Don’t do that.”  He stated sternly.  “Don’t ever act like you should be sorry for NOT trying to hurt someone.  You’re like James, your hands are for healing, not for violence and that is NOT something to apologize for.  That’s a trait to be proud of.”

 

Bria nodded and smiled weakly before continuing.  “Anyway, I was disarmed a few times but was able to summon my wand back quickly each time.  They were getting really frustrated; I think that they thought that they’d win as soon as they disarmed us but we were too powerful for that.”  Bria paused for a moment and swallowed hard.  “So they…they just charged.  I didn’t even realize what my guy was doing at first until his fist hit my jaw.”  James instinctively flinched as she spoke and saw that both her fathers had turned their heads, he assumed to mask tears.

 

Bria’s voice picked up speed, clearly attempting to end the meeting as quickly as possible.  “I fell to the ground and he just kept hitting me and kicking me.  I couldn’t see what Sean was doing but I heard when Collin came running into the room, I heard the spell hit him, I heard his head hit the ground.  If he hadn’t distracted them, I wouldn’t have been able to get my wand and restrain the guy.  That’s when I passed out so that’s all I know.”

   
James felt the magnitude of her words hit him all at once. If Collin hadn't distracted them what would have happened? If he had been sleeping too soundly or listening to music, would they even be sitting in this room right now? Would Bria even still be alive? His grip tightened on her hand reflexively as the images of her bruised body flashed in his mind. His eyes burned and his breathing quickened, all the suppressed emotions from the past twenty four hours flooding back. He bit his lip hard in an attempt to hold back the tears but he knew it was useless.

  
Dean must have picked up on his distress because he quickly made an excuse for James. "Hey, James. Would you go and see if the boys want to get some take-away for dinner? I'll stay with Bria while we wrap this up."

  
James nodded, not trusting his own voice enough to speak. He gave Bria's hand a final squeeze and made his way to the door. He barely made it a dozen steps outside before succumbing to the sobs and falling back against the wall.

  
He stood there letting the sobs rack his body for a few minutes when he felt strong arms envelope him in a warm hug. Before he was even conscious of what he was doing, he was hugging the unknown person back, staining their shirt with his tears. It took him a moment to calm himself enough to step back and survey his caretaker. He was surprised to see that he was now face to face with Seamus who smiled at him warmly, leaving his hand on James's shoulder for further comfort.

  
"I'm sorry." James said sheepishly, now embarrassed for his outburst. "I should be the one comforting you."

  
Seamus shook his head. "Nah, Dean and I have been taking turns falling apart all night. You've had to be her rock, it was only a matter of time before you broke."  
 

James laughed. "Trust me, I was far from void of emotions all night."

  
"And no one would have expected anything else. What mattered was that you were present when she needed you." Seamus said, giving James's shoulder a final squeeze before letting go. "You know, I think I've changed my mind. You're not my least favorite Potter anymore."

  
James gave a hearty chuckle. "Oh yeah? Who is it now then?"

  
Seamus pulled a face like he was mulling it over. "Definitely your mam. I mean her tongue HAS been in my husband's mouth so who else would it be?"

  
James scrunched up his face in horror. "Gross!" He said before laughing awkwardly.

  
"I'm serious though, James. I'm proud to have someone like you love my daughter." Seamus said as he extended his hand.

  
James accepted and shook it firmly before answering, "She's easy to love, sir." And James couldn't help but chuckle because he meant it and for the first time, without any hesitation or fear, he was willing to admit it.

 

They stayed at the hospital long after their take away dinner had been consumed and when they finally returned to James's room, he felt a level of exhaustion that he had never experienced. He and Bria climbed into opposite sides of the unmade bed, straightening blankets enough to cover the pair of them.

  
Bria turned to look at him, it seemed like there was a lot she wanted to say but instead smiled and whispered, "Goodnight, " as she rolled over to her left side and extinguished the lights.

  
"'Night." He said into the darkness.

  
Between his new revelation and the stress of the day, he ached to reach out and hold her. He considered briefly allowing enough time to pass where she would think he was simply tossing in his sleep, but quickly dismissed the idea. She didn't care if he played with her hair or held her hand while they studied, why would she mind this?

  
Decision made, he swallowed hard and turned, settling his right arm across her waist. He instantly felt Bria's body tense and worried that he had made a huge mistake. However, after that brief shock, she relaxed into his arms sliding closer and placing her arm on top of his.

  
With Bria safe in his arms, James found sleep easily which was good because they had a Weasley wedding tomorrow, and there was nothing like a Weasley wedding!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is pretty much it! Just a short epilogue that will follow later today. Let me know what you think!

James woke to a harsh shove to his head courtesy of his younger brother, Albus. He opened his eyes and angrily made to grab him when Albus motioned to the sleeping girl at his side, placing his finger to his lips to quiet him. Albus flashed a devilish grin, thrilled at his built in armour and scurried out of the bedroom.

James wanted to be annoyed but any negative emotions left him the moment his eyes fell to the sleeping girl at his side. He wanted nothing more than to curl up against her and sleep the day away but today was his God brother's wedding day and he had best man responsibilities to attend to! Begrudgingly, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, stood, and stretched his arms high into the air, stifling his morning groan as to not wake Bria.

He silently left the room and padded down to the kitchen where his siblings sat, quietly eating their breakfasts. They hadn't noticed his presence yet and he smiled wickedly at his luck, pulling his arm back taught and swinging at the back of his brother's head with full force.

James was already laughing before his hand actually made contact and as soon as it did, Albus let out an overly dramatic yell which made him double over in hysterics. That was satisfying.

"James Sirius Potter!" Ginny bellowed from the other side of the room. "Was that necessary?"

All three siblings couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her. She stood, hands on her hips in her floral robe. Her mop of red hair pinned into rollers in various places.

"Sorry, mum. I didn't see you there." James said, crossing the room to give her a light peck on the cheek. "And to answer your question, yes. It was revenge, Mum; you of all people wouldn't begrudge me that!"

"Lies!" Albus shouted from the table.

Lily scoffed. "Shut it, Al!"

"Albus! My name is Albus." He shouted, waving his hands in the air.

"Whatever you say, Al." Lily said, sticking her tongue out for good measure.

"Enough, enough!" Ginny shouted exasperatedly, gaining the attention of her three children. "Now, your dad and Bri still need to get showers so I've sent your robes on to the Burrow; Gran said you can shower and dress there. Dad will meet you as soon as he's ready. Finish up your breakfast and then head over."

"Mum, Bri.." James started.

"I'll make sure she gets there in one piece." She said, interrupting him. Albus opened his mouth to speak but Ginny put her hand up to silence him. "And Draco owled this morning, Scorpius is meeting us here so that he can travel with us to the Burrow. Really, children, if I can manage to get the lot of you where you need to go, then I can handle your much kinder, more respectful other halves! Now off with you!" Ginny finished, shooing them out of the kitchen.

______________

"So, are you sure you want to go through with this Teddy?" James asked from his sprawled out position on his Gran's couch.

"Aren't you supposed to keep me from getting cold feet, best man?" Teddy asked, shoving James's feet off of the sofa so that he could sit down.

James pulled himself into a sitting position next to him. "Nah, my job is to make sure you're happy."

Teddy smiled fondly and threw an arm around James's shoulder. "Well I really am. Happier than I've ever been."

Just then they were interrupted by some very familiar stuttering. "Oh! Sorry. Sorry for interrupting your moment. I mean, were you having a moment? A best man, groom moment? I can come back." Scorpius stammered.

James laughed and stood. "It's fine, Scorp. Look at you! Don't you look smart." He fully meant the flattery too as Scorpius wore a pair of midnight blue dress robes that brought out his eyes dramatically and were perfectly tailored to his body.

Scorpius flushed at the compliment. "Er..thanks. You look nice too."

Just then Albus came blundering into the room, his black dress robes on, with his bow tie in hand. "Bloody hell. James, I can't get this blasted thing to tie properly."

Upon seeing Scorpius, Albus tripped over his own feet and fell into his friend's arms. "Um, sorry." Albus said, pulling himself back into a standing position.

Scorpius chuckled awkwardly. "Just don't do that during the ceremony. Here." Scorpius took the tie from Albus's hands and slipped the fabric around his neck, working with nimble fingers to tie it into a bow. "Sometimes it benefits to just use your hands instead of magic. There. Perfect." And then reaching up to smooth a lock of unruly, black hair, he added, "You look brilliant."

Albus shifted awkwardly. "Thanks...you too. I like the blue. On you, I mean."

Teddy who had been watching the scene unfold with intense curiosity, looked at James and lifted his eyebrows and nodded in the boys' direction, questioning whether he was reading the exchange correctly. James only laughed and ended his brother's awkward torment by drawing Scorpius's attention away. "So, Scorp, what did you need?"

"Right!" Scorpius shouted a little bit too loud. "Your mum wanted me to tell that you have five minutes until show time. Er...but that was a few minutes ago though so now you probably have two minutes. Scorpius looked at his watch, a minute and thirty seconds. So, pretty much now."

Teddy nervously wrung his hands. "Salazar, it's almost time!" Where's Louis?" He yelled panic stricken.

As if on cue, Louis strutted into the room. "I'm right here. So are we doing this thing?"

___________

The ceremony took place in the garden, behind the Burrow. A warming charm had been placed on the heavily decorated tent, giving the feel of midsummer, despite the chill of New Year's day.

The groom and groomsmen had taken their places at the front of the altar. James watched fondly as Ginny and Fleur walked in, arm and arm, and sat in their respective seats. Harry and Teddy's Gran followed directly after, both stopping and hugging Teddy before sitting.

Teddy flashed James an excited smile, bouncing on his heels ever so slightly. It was almost the same look that he wore whenever he had news to share which brought him pride. There was something in his expression that was more monumental today, though, and James couldn't be happier than to share in this moment with him.

As the music started, James looked back down the aisle to watch Lily's procession. He and Albus had a bet as to whether she would dance down the aisle or something of the like, the youngest Potter could rarely pass up an attention-seeking moment. Just then a flash of yellow drew his attention to the right.

James inhaled deeply. Bria sat next to Scorpius, her mocha skin radiating against the pale yellow dress robes that she wore. Her usually free hair was pulled into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, curls hanging down, framing her beautiful face. She watched the procession and smiled warmly, resting her head on Scorpius's shoulder. James was mildly aware that there was a wedding taking place around him but in that moment it felt as though time stood still.

The music changed tempo and the guests stood, alerting James to the fact that he had completely missed Roxanne and Margery make their way down the aisle. James spared a brief look at Uncle Bill and Victoire (who looked stunning), before letting his gaze fall on Teddy who had tears in his eyes.

James heart was so full and the expression on his face must have reflected that because when his eyes drifted back to the guests, he was met with Bria's affectionate stare. James smiled at her and, hoping no one noticed, mouthed, "you're beautiful." Bria smiled shyly and looked down as Albus smacked him lightly on the shoulder. Apparently the exchange wasn't as discreet as he'd hoped so he resigned to give his full attention for the remainder of the ceremony.

___________

James wasn't sure why they needed to take so many photos of the same group of people, standing in slightly different positions each time. By the look on the groom's face, it seemed that this particular wedding desire belonged solely to the bride. To his credit, Teddy smiled happily through every picture even though James was sure he was as famished as himself, since they'd both said as much before walking to the altar.

When they entered the reception tent it was arm in arm, in groups of two. James escorted Roxanne to her seat before joining his own 'plus one' at the end of the table. Bria was already engaged in conversation with Albus and Scorpius when he sat down and paid him no mind.

"I wasn't being sarcastic, Albus." Bria said. "You looked properly poised up there."

Scorpius nodded at her side as Albus's cheeks pinked and he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, what about me?" James broke in obnoxiously.

Bria pulled an uncomfortable face. "Rubbish. Pure rubbish. You nearly ruined the whole thing."

James was about to supply a sarcastic retort when his grandfather, Arthur, stood and placed his wand to his throat.

"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" The crowd quieted immediately and turned to face the speaker. "Victoire is the first grandchild of ours to get married..." Arthur sputtered through tears, "and it so happens to be to a young man who I have considered family since they day he was born. And, well that just makes today that much more special to Mols and me. So without further ado, for the first time ever, please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lupin!"

Cheers erupted throughout the tent as everyone sprung to their feet. James whooped loudly as his cousins - he could officially say that now - took their seats. The rest of the crowd followed suit and settled into their chairs.

"I think it's so sweet how excited you are for them." Bria said, smiling.

Albus snorted next to her. "He's just excited that he finally gets to eat. We're all starving!" He said dramatically.

James nodded his agreement. "He's not wrong. That's definitely part of it." He said as he uncovered the dish in front of him, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply.

A few hours later their stomachs were full of delicious food, their cheeks reddened from flowing firewhiskey, and their feet tired from excessive dancing. James sat chatting and laughing with Teddy and Victoire when he spotted his mother, Lily, and Bria giggling as they took photos with "their" centerpiece across the room. James laughed at the sight, "Excuse me, cousins. I have to see a girl about a dance."

Instead of walking to Bria, he made his way to his Uncle Charlie who was in charge of music. He leaned in and whispered to his Uncle, who gave a quizzical look but nodded all the same, and then turned his attention back to the girl in yellow.

As the song changed, James watched as Bria's mouth dropped open, recognition apparent on her face. Her head swiveled around the room trying to locate the culprit.

James's smile widened as he started dancing enthusiastically towards her and singing at the top of his lungs. "Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight!"

Bria snorted with laughter when her eyes finally settled on him. She happily accepted his outstretched hands and joined him on the dance floor, mimicking his ridiculous moves all the way. Quite a few people laughed and cheered and some even danced along side them.

As the song ended, James wrapped his arms around Bria's waist and pulled her close so that she couldn't escape the slow dance that was starting. Bria laughed and let her wrists drape over his shoulders, swaying softly to the beat. James could feel her quickened heart beat through her chest but whether he was the cause or the dancing, he couldn't be sure. He tried to catch her eyes but it seemed that she was trying to look everywhere but directly at him.

Suddenly James was overcome with a wave of emotion that could no longer be ignored. Acting on pure instinct, he reached up and tucked a loose curl behind her ear which finally pulled her attention back to him. Bria smiled but it wasn't her usual smile; this smile was filled with uneasiness. James worried that she knew what he was about to say and wished he wouldn't.

He inhaled deeply before smiling back, his own heart hammering inside his chest. Despite his fear, he had to be honest so he leaned his lips down to her ear before whispering, "I love you."

Bria started looking around them, noticing immediately that there was no one within ear shot.

"That wasn't for them." James confirmed.

Bria's eyes widened and her breathing quickened as the implications of his words sunk in. "James..." She said, clear reservations on her mind and lips.

James interrupted her, either hoping to say his piece or to delay the inevitable heartbreak. "I haven't been pretending for a long time, Bri." He started, swallowing the remainder of his nerves before continuing. "I'm not sure when it happened but you've become my favourite person. You make me a better friend, a better brother, a better healer, a better human. I love you with everything that I am and everything that I could be. I know I don't deserve you because I'm an arrogant prat but I know that I can be better...with you. So, if you want, I'd really like to put an end to this fake relationship and maybe start a real one?"

James let out a long exhale as he felt the heat from his embarrassment rising from his neck, into his cheeks. Bria opened her mouth and closed it a few times, clearly at a loss of words. They had stopped dancing minutes ago and the longer they stood in silence, the more embarrassed and stupid James felt. Apparently, he had misread their entire relationship and managed to destroy their easy friendship with three simple words. Well, three words followed by unloading every emotion he'd had over the past three months on the poor girl. He was such an idiot.

He finally released Bria's waist and took a step back, eyes facing the floor, unable to meet her gaze. "It's okay." He said with a half-hearted chuckle, "I'll just..." and leaving the thought unfinished, he turned to flee the awkward situation.

"James, wait!" Bria said, finally finding her voice as she caught his wrist in her hands, tugging him to face her. "It's just...I don't...I'm not..." she stammered, "Just...okay. Yes."

"Yes?" James asked hesitantly, not wanting to jump to conclusions only to be let down.

Bria nodded, the nervousness written all over her face. "I love you, too," she said, barely above a whisper.

With relief, James immediately surged forward and caught her face in his hands, pulling her into a perfect kiss. Bria melted into him as his hands dropped to her waist and hers tangled in his hair. They lost themselves in the moment, every unspoken word and missed opportunity coursing through them, as if this kiss could make up for lost time. James was sure that no one had experienced such a perfect moment in the history of time.

"James Sirius Potter!" His mother's voice broke the spell of the kiss and he and Bria broke apart, both flushed with passion and embarrassment. "Get ahold of yourself, your Gran is in this room!"

James flashed her his best look of apology. "Sorry, mum." He replied sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry Gin." Bria echoed in a small voice from his arms.

To her credit, James's mum only laughed and shook her head as she continued dancing with his father.

Bria buried her head in his chest. "So embarrassing!" She laughed.

James smiled down at her and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I need a drink of water." He said as he led her away from the dance floor and back to their seats.

As they fell into their chairs, they couldn't stop smiling at each other and falling into giggles. James rolled his eyes at himself, he knew he was acting like a blushing, first year, girl but couldn't bring himself to care. Bria's hand snaked around the back of his chair to play with the tufts of hair at the base of his neck and James had to busy his lips in a drink of water to suppress another absurdly large smile.

Bria leaned in close, her lips grazing his ear and her warm breath ghosting lightly on his skin as she spoke. "So, we've ended our fake relationship. When do you think we could end our fake sex life?"

So taken aback by her unexpected question, James choked on his sip of water, coughing and gasping for air as liquid poured from his mouth. Once he could finally breath again, he looked up to see her giggling and biting her lip, clearly proud at the reaction she could illicit. James was just about to scold her for her poorly timed joke that could have killed him when she continued. "Because I'm pretty sure there's no one in the house right now."

James narrowed his eyes at her, attempting to decipher her level of seriousness as she raised her eyebrows in questioning. They sat locked in this quizzical staring contest for a few beats before James decided she was being serious. His face broke into a broad grin as he nodded once. In one fluid motion, Bria lifted her hand and a loud crash could be heard across the tent.

"Distraction." She announced proudly as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into a standing position. James's mouth dropped open as the two bolted out of the tent at record speed, laughing all the way.


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I guess you can consider this a bit of 'choose your own adventure.' If you were only reading this piece for a bit of sappy fluff then stop reading now. However, if you're in this with me for the long haul (ie parts 2 & 3 plus the outlined sequel) then enjoy!

FOUR YEARS LATER...

"Well, I'm off to face my inevitable doom!" Bria sighed dramatically as she entered the break room of St. Mungos.

James smiled at her, reaching inside her robe and pulling her to him with her belt loop. "Don't be ridiculous!" He chastised as he wrapped his arms around her. "You are going to pass this exam with flying colours and when you get home tonight I will have prepared a celebratory feast for the newest certified healer at St. Mungos."

She smiled at him warmly and stood on tip toes to place a chaste kiss on his lips. When they had officially started to work together they set out to never engage in public displays of affection on the grounds. However, since they were nearly always on these grounds, that proved more difficult than expected and the hard rule quickly became more lenient.

"You're probably right." She resigned. "I mean, if you passed it then anyone can!" She said, sticking her tongue out.

"Ha ha ha." James retorted sarcastically. "Why am I so nice to you?"

Bria smiled mischieviously. "Oh, you know why!" She said with a wink and a much too seductive lick of her lips.

An involuntary growl escaped deep from the back of James's throat as he pulled his girlfriend into a messy kiss. Within a minute, the two were much more bothered than they had any right to be in a public place. James was considering placing a locking charm on the break room door when someone's clearing of their throat made him realize that he was already too late.

The lovers looked up and were relieved to see Spencer, an acquaintance of theirs, leaning against the door frame. He smirked at them and clicked his tongue. "Naughty, naughty. Healer Potter, you should know better!" He joked.

"Oh please!" Bria said. "I don't know what you thought you saw but he was merely wishing me luck on my exam." She flashed him an innocent smile.

James chuckled and then noticed the time. "Your exam which you really need to leave for now!"

"Right!" Bria shouted, her nerves returning with a vengeance. "Wish me luck!"

"Luck! You won't need it though." He said, beaming down at her.

She smiled her fondest smile and whispered, "Love you."

"...so much." James finished, kissing her on the nose and then smacking her rear as she turned to leave.

"Good luck." Spencer said as Bria bounded passed him and once the door closed behind her, he turned back to James. "So gross. So cute. Mostly gross, though."

James chuckled. "What did you need, Spenc?"

"I need you to handle the patient in exam 9 so that I can go home on time, for a change. He's an amputee complaining of phantom pains." And when James didn't answer at first, he added a hasty, "please?"

"Sure. If you never mention what you saw here today, that is." He said, clapping Spencer on the back.

"Deal." He replied happily. "Exam 9."

James nodded his goodbye as he made his way down the hallway to exam room 9. He retrieved the chart from the slot on the front of the door and pushed his way inside as he flipped through the paperwork.

"Sir, I think there might be a mistake." James said as he lifted his head.

His mind was able to vaguely register the blinding yellow-green light and the sudden shout of, "IMPERIO!"

And then...there was nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read the conclusion in The Potter Kids Find Peace, coming soon.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I honestly didn't expect any love for a fic with an original main character. Especially not one where I regularly post the first draft but you're all wonderfully supportive people! Thanks again and I'll see you next week with the Scorbus of it all in, In Pieces. Xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is part one of a three part series. The groundwork is being laid for Scorbus in the background. That relationship will be explored more in depth in part 2.


End file.
